NFL
By: Brock Vierra
It’s apparent that Mark Davis has a type when it comes to head coaches and being winners is definitely not a requirement. In fact, the Raiders have had only one winning season since Davis took over ownership from his father and are guaranteed to finish 2022 with a losing record. Davis, the mastermind behind Jon Gruden’s 10-year, 100 million-dollar contract got another opportunity to hire a head coach when Gruden resigned due to his email scandal.
Davis had a fair share of options including sticking with interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, the man who guided the Raiders to the playoffs in 2021. However, Davis went with New England Offensive Coordinator Josh McDaniels. McDaniels, a former head coach with the Denver Broncos, is a product of the Bill Belichick coaching tree. Tom Brady’s coordinator for multiple Super Bowl titles, McDaniels also helped lead rookie Mac Jones to the playoffs. Davis must’ve been impressed to hand over the keys to his franchise to someone with tremendous baggage.
McDaniels was the Denver Broncos head coach from 2009 to 2010 where he amassed a record of 11-17. He was also involved in a video-tapping scandal when the Broncos taped practices of their opponents leading to McDaniels getting fined. McDaniels oversaw an offensive rehaul spurred by the departures of Jay Cutler and Brandon Marshall. McDaniels also attempted to trade for Patriots’ backup quarterback Matt Cassel and he drafted Tim Tebow. Long story short, the Broncos were horrible and McDaniels was fired.
In 2018, McDaniels agreed to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts. The deal was confirmed and McDaniels gave such a guarantee that the team and media outlets had announced it only for McDaniels to back out of the deal and return to the Patriots. This sparked great outrage and McDaniels’ agent terminated his contract with him.
This brings us to today. Josh McDaniels, head coach of the 6-9 Las Vegas Raiders announced that their last chance playoff push would be led without quarterback Derek Carr. Carr will be benched for Jared Stidham, the former Patriots backup QB that McDaniels’ traded for in the offseason. Carr’s contract will only become guaranteed this year if he gets hurt so this move sets up the Raiders to move on from their franchise quarterback. A move that has shocked Raider Nation virtually confirms the Raiders will be searching for a new signal caller in the offseason and a potential fire sale of players is being talked about. The future of superstar Davonte Adams (who came to Las Vegas to play with Carr) along with other veterans is now up in the air.
This feeling shouldn’t be unfamiliar to Raiders fans. When Jon Gruden came in, rumors emerged that he looked to move on from Carr during their first year together. Gruden would sign A.J. McCarren in 2018, Mike Glennon and DeShone Kizer in 2019, and Marcus Mariota in 2020. Mariota getting the biggest deal at 2 years, 17.6 million. Gruden also traded for Christian Hackenberg in 2018. Gruden would also get rid of Khalil Mack, Amari Cooper, Michael Crabtree, Cordarrelle Patterson, Marquette King, and Sebastian Janikowski. Gruden never had a winning season.
Like Deja Vu, history will repeat itself. McDaniels wants his guys and will let go of talented players to get less talented guys that fit his “image.” We saw it in Detroit with Matt Patricia, we saw it for the Raiders with Gruden. McDaniels is cut from that same cloth where they believe their way is best. The Raiders have gotten rid of a lot of Gruden’s guys in less than 12 months after taking over. Some releases were warranted and some weren’t. With Carr, Josh Jacobs, and a whole host of others seemingly out the door, one must ask, is McDaniels worth it?
I know my answer, I knew it before he was hired but I don’t make these decisions. Now it is up to Mark Davis to step in and fix it. A bold move I don’t expect an owner of his history to do. Perhaps Davis believes in McDaniels and his plan to turn Las Vegas into Patriots’ west but here are the facts, it won’t happen. The roster may look like New England but the play will mirror the lack of true vision that has plagued the Raiders since Gruden took over. Just a piece of advice for Josh McDaniels, be careful what you email.
