LAS VEGAS — Travis Smith rejoined the Las Vegas Raiders as the defensive line coach during the 2026 offseason. Smith spent the four seasons prior to 2026 with the Chicago Bears and Tennessee Titans.

Before his time with the Bears and Titans, Smith spent 10 seasons with the Raiders in various roles. His last position with the team was assistant defensive line coach during the 2021 season, a year in which the Raiders clinched a playoff berth and subsequently lost to Cincinnati in the playoffs.

"I think it's awesome. To have an opportunity in this profession to be here ... one place for 10 years with so many different coaches and people and staff, leave and then four or five years later to be able to come back and still be growing in this profession and being around new people is awesome," Smith said. "But also the thing that I know myself and my family appreciate just as much is that there are still people that were here before. That's part of the reason we came back too."

"That was definitely exciting for me coming back, to have him here to be in the room," Smith said regarding defensive end Maxx Crosby. "I was here obviously when we drafted him, and then [was] there on his pro day when I was the only coach there to watch him. To go through that conversation with Coach [Jon] Gruden and [Mike] Mayock about taking him in the fourth round, to seeing his growth as a young player for those first couple of years, to leave and then see where he is now it's really exciting to see his growth."

Smith reflected on the organization's changes since 2021. "Transition. You think from that last year in '21, all the adversity and things that took place that year ... to where, with several of those vets anyone from Quinton Jefferson, Solomon Thomas, K.J. Wright, Denzel Perryman, Yannick Ngakoue made that run to where we were able to make the playoffs," Smith said. "After the playoff loss to Cincinnati, being gone five years and how much things change, that obviously takes place in this business with players, coaches and even staff members. This organization has added several positions. If you look around, this organization has grown immensely from what it used to be in Oakland, and even our first few years in Las Vegas."

"The fortunate thing I had here being here for 10 years with several different staffs, there's so many different ways to play football, to communicate with people, to teach and develop," Smith said. "But there's also a humility aspect of it. If you drop your ego, internally as coaches, we can grow as well. The bottom line is, it's not who's right, it's what's right."

"It's an effort-based front. Whether we're rushing four, we're rushing five, we're rushing three it doesn't matter," Smith said. "The intensity and disposition that we play with is non-negotiable. We're going to teach fundamentals, we're going to teach technique ... but the bottom line is the one thing they all have control over is their effort."