Joe DeCamillis - Special Teams Coordinator, raiders Event: Press Conference | Date: 2026-09-18 | Full transcript (primary source).
On September 18, 2026, Joe DeCamillis addressed the media during a press conference for the Raiders, discussing the team's special teams performance and strategies following their recent game. The focus of the conference included player evaluations and adjustments in the return game as the team prepares for upcoming challenges.
Transcript
DeCamillis: Yeah, I thought he did an excellent job for us. He'll be a captain for us this week, did a great job in the return game, but also very, very productive in the coverage game, too. So did an excellent job.
DeCamillis: Well, I mean, you want to have guys that are going to make great decisions. I thought Malik did a good job right there, but then we used Dylan back there really on kind of a defense day situation, but that may not be the case every single week.
DeCamillis: Correct, yeah, correct.
DeCamillis: Depends on who I had. I mean, you're obviously got guys that are not very experienced back there, but Dylan is probably taking more reps in that area of the field than Malik has taken in that area of the field. So that's kind of where it's at there. But we did it the Super Bowl year with the Rams. Cooper Cup was back there for us. And then once we got a full-time returner that we felt like was a guy that could make those decisions, we put him back there and stayed there with him in 22.
DeCamillis: Yeah, I mean, that's always the case. You're always trying to do what's best to schematically help your team. That's for sure. And that could possibly be down the road. We'll see how it goes.
DeCamillis: Yeah, they've done a good job. I thought, obviously, the one play that hurt us last week was the long return. I believe there was, in the league, there was 10 returns over the plus 45 yard line last week, which it's, you know, everyone says it's a dynamic play. I'd say it's a volatile play. That's what I would say. But you know, I think that the young guys have really gotten into it. I think our older guys have, too. They're really buying in and doing what we want them to do. And you know, I'm encouraged by what we did last week, but I'm not totally satisfied. That's for sure.
DeCamillis: Yeah, we misfit it. And we actually had a couple of players that, you know, we miss a tackle, obviously. Everybody could see that. But we misfit a couple of things right there. And it just happens quickly. You've got to be ready to come off a block and get going from there. And we didn't play that play well. Now, Cody did a great job of hustling on it, obviously. Everyone's talking about that play. I'm glad we got him on that play, for sure, because that's a great example of complimentary football. Like, we got him down. They had to play. Our defense does a great job. The field goal rush team comes in and really probably should have blocked it. But the guy hit such a bad ball that, you know, goes past us right there, and they miss it. So that's complimentary football at its best. And then the same thing happened with AJ's play at the end. You know, we're picking up the defense right there. We end up getting a ball that's down inside the 5. And, you know, they're able to start that possession from inside the 5-yard line, which that's complimentary football at its best.
DeCamillis: Yeah, I think Dylan likes to eat, to be honest with you. And he knows how he's going to eat, which means I got to stay on the field as much as I can. He wants to continue to be an NFL player. And I think he understands that very, very well. Some guys don't get it for a little while, but he's getting it right now. So let's keep him going in the right direction.
DeCamillis: Yes, we do. Sure do.
DeCamillis: I think there are more reps you get in practice. I don't know if you, I can't remember if you guys were out there when we were doing that. But he had plenty of reps in practice at it. So we felt comfortable going into the game. It actually got lucky for them because it bounced right to the kid. I mean, I'm talking to the head, or talking to the special teams coordinator after the game. He's like, you know, he said, we just got fortunate that the ball was right there. So you know, it'll be something that we'll use throughout the year and we'll see how it goes.
DeCamillis: No, I'm not, actually. I mean, literally, you think I'm some kind of like rookie man. Forget about it, dude.
DeCamillis: Yeah, Shay did an excellent job for us. I believe he had three tackles also. He was playing with his hair on fire. Did really well in the return game, too. So like I said, the buy-in is extremely high right now. We just got to keep it going that way.
