New Raiders coach Dennis Allen dipped into a familiar location to find a replacement for departed defensive line coach Mike Waufle. Allen on Monday hired Texas A&M defensive line coach Terrell Williams to succeed Waufle, according to Rivals.com.
Williams 37, spent the past two seasons as the Aggies defensive line coach. Coincidentally, Allen played for Texas A&M and got his coaching start with the college.
The Aggies ranked 12th nationally against the run last season, at an average of 101.9 yards per game. Stopping the run has been a huge priority of past Raiders coaches, with little success.
Texas A&M ranked 90th against the run before Williams’ arrival. They improved to 30th in 2010 and jumped to 12th last year.
Last season, the Raiders allowed 5.1 yards per carry and finished near the bottom of the league in average yards per game.
Williams also coached the defensive line at Purdue, Akron and Youngstown State before he joined the Aggies staff.
One of Williams’ prized pupils was defensive end Cliff Avril, who played for the Detroit Lions last season and is a prospective free agent.
The Raiders have not confirmed Williams’ hire. Same goes for the reported hires of Ted Gilmore, Johnny Lynn and Mark Hutson.

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