Tom Brady has had his say on how the firing of Josh McDaniels as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders will have impacted the locker room.
Speaking on his weekly podcast Let’s Go!, which features Brady and Jim Gray, the quarterback tiptoed around addressing the actual firing of McDaniels. The newly unemployed coach was his former offensive coordinator during his time with the New England Patriots. Brady opted to point out how it impacts the locker room rather than speaking about Las Vegas’ situation head-on.
Brady is set to purchase a minor stake in the Raiders once he gets approval from the league.
What Happened to Josh McDaniels?
McDaniels was fired as Las Vegas’ head coach, along with general manager Dave Ziegler. McDaniels was only in charge of the Raiders for 25 games, making it the eighth-shortest head coaching tenure.
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The Raiders locker room has been much happier since McDaniels was fired, with Vic Tafur of The Athletic reporting it was the “happiest locker room ever.” Tashan Reed — also of The Athletic — simply said there was “A lot of smiling today.”
But how does a firing of a head coach impact a locker room? The greatest quarterback of all time let his listeners know.
How Does Tom Brady Think The Firing Impacts The Locker Room?
Brady was speaking on his podcast after the Raiders beat the New York Giants 30-6 in Week 9. It was Las Vegas’ first game under interim head coach Antonio Pierce.
Brady started by trying to relate to his position, which was made difficult by his lack of regular-season adversity.
“I’ve seen a lot over the years, and there’s a lot of different reactions from different people,” he said. “And I was never a part of a season where we were in that situation as a team, but a lot of teams are.”
Brady was justifiably hesitant to provide much flare in his comments. Controversy would only add to the obstacles in the path to his stake in Las Vegas.
“So change is obviously happening every single week, injuries. Daniel Jones tore his ACL against the Raiders yesterday. Guys have been lost to season-ending injuries, and coaches now are gone. So you’ve got to be able to adapt and adjust and move on.”
It was a roundabout answer in more ways than one.
“You know, it’s not like all the problems get solved when something like that happens,” Brady said.
“People are making changes … When a player leaves, a coach gets fired, something happens to a family member, and you’ve got to adjust in your personal life, there’s a lot of changes. So you’ve just got to continue to adjust and adapt the best way possible.”
Brady also spoke on how players deal with change is what defines them, saying, “You’re still out there on the battlefield, you’re still out there going after it, you’re still out there playing, and you have to keep fighting to the end. That’s what a true professional will always do. He will give it his best no matter what.”
On how the Raiders players are dealing with the change, Brady spoke about the team’s star players.
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“They have arguably the best receiver in the game [Davante Adams], Josh Jacobs is an unbelievably talented back … Maxx Crosby is right in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year,” he said.
“They have unbelievable talent, coupled with dog-like leadership. What you are seeing is those leaders start to emerge,” Brady said. “When those key players with the loudest voices are able to play at that level, it galvanizes the locker room.”
What Did Larry Fitzgerald Say?
Former NFL wide receiver and longtime Arizona Cardinals star Larry Fitzgerald was a guest on the podcast.
“There is always an element of newness that happens when there is a coaching change,” Fitzgerald said. “Especially when that period you had wasn’t necessarily successful.”
He also spoke on the vibe in the locker room.
“There will be some excitement about what’s new, you hear a different voice, a different message,” Fitzgerald added. “You see a guy who has played at a very high level […] he is young, he is influential, he understands the players, so the message is very different, it’s a complete 180 to the Patriot way.
“We’ll wait to see if it is sustainable.”
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