The Raiders continue building their coaching staff. They are in the phase of naming position coaches now. The latest is the addition of former Vikings RB coach Kennedy Polamalu to the same position.
The #Raiders are expected to hire Kennedy Polamalu as their running backs coach, source said. Polamalu spent the past five seasons in Minnesota, where he was well-regarded.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) February 22, 2022
If his name sounds familiar it’s because he’s the uncle of Hall of Fame safety Troy Polamalu. And he gets his first name from John F Kennedy because he was born on the day Kennedy was assassinated.
Kennedy Polamalu has spent the past five seasons coaching the running backs in Minnesota where three times in that time his rushing attack was among the best in the league, either in yards, yards per carry, or touchdowns.
In his first year on the job, the Vikings were top ten in yards and touchdowns. Leading the way was former Raiders RB Latavius Murray.
The past three seasons, Dalvin Cook has carried the load, rushing for over 1000 yards each season. In 2019 the Vikings were 11th in yards per carry and sixth in touchdowns. And in 2020 they were fourth in yards and seventh in touchdowns.
Polamalu has been coaching running backs since 1994, beginning at San Diego State. By 2000, the former USC fullback was coaching for his alma mater while his nephew Troy was playing for the Trojans.
The year after Troy entered the NFL ranks, so too did Kennedy, becoming the RB coach in Cleveland in 2004. From there he would coach running backs in Jacksonville for six years before heading back to USC to become the offensive coordinator. He would later be the OC and RB coach at UCLA before returning to the NFL with the Vikings.
