Raiders hire former 49ers, Panthers running back as new RBs coach

The Las Vegas Raiders continue to add heavy hitters to Antonio Pierce’s coaching staff.

Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported Friday that the Raiders have hired ex-NFLer DeShaun Foster to be their new running backs coach. The move comes after Las Vegas just hired another big name to serve as their new offensive coordinator.

Foster, 44, was a running back in the NFL after being picked in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He appeared in 79 regular-season games over six seasons from 2003-08 He was a key rusher on the Carolina Panthers team that went to Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004 and later played for the San Francisco 49ers as well. Foster finished his NFL career with 3,570 rushing yards (including three seasons of 875 yards or more) and 18 total touchdowns (regular season and playoffs).

Since then, Foster has made a strong name for himself as a coach at UCLA, his alma mater. He returned to the Bruins as a volunteer assistant in 2012 and then became the team’s RBs coach in 2017. Foster had been working at UCLA under head coach Chip Kelly for the last several years. Kelly himself was reportedly considered for the Raiders’ OC job and could still make a return to the NFL with a different team.