The Las Vegas Raiders got out to a rough start to the season and ultimately decided to fire HC Josh McDaniels on Halloween — the night after a 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions.
The Raiders ultimately decided to make the move for a variety of reasons.
Why Did the Las Vegas Raiders Fire Josh McDaniels?
McDaniels’ tenure as Las Vegas’ head coach was less than stellar. The Raiders went 6-11 in his first year at the helm last season after he came over from serving as the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator under Bill Belichick.
It was more of the same for Las Vegas to start the 2023 season, as it opened with a narrow win over the Denver Broncos and three straight defeats before a pair of close wins got them back to .500 at 3-3.
Even during that success, though, locker room issues were beginning to brew between McDaniels and the players.
The Raiders took a 21-17 win over the Patriots to reach .500 in Week 6, but not everyone was happy. Star WR Davante Adams expressed his displeasure to reporters after catching just two passes for 29 yards on five targets in the contest.
“I’m sure people are thinking, ‘They won the game. Why is there an issue?’ I mean, you see why it’s an issue,” Adams told reporters. “Y’all should know who I am; know what I’m about at this point … when you’re a player like me, mentally, my benchmark is not wins and losses — it’s greatness.
“So when I go out there, I expect to be able to have that ability to put that on tape and have an influence on the game. That’s my purpose for being here. I’m not here just to hang out. I came here to win and to do it the right way.”
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Those concerns also seemed to be due, at least in part, to Las Vegas’s struggles to put many points on the board, despite a talented offense. Even with playmakers, such as Adams, RB Josh Jacobs, TE Michael Mayer, and WR Jakobi Meyers, the Raiders struggled to put up points with just one game of more than 20 points through their first six contests.
These struggles were atypical for the offensive-minded McDaniels and seemed to underscore bigger issues in Las Vegas, particularly as the trend continued in losses to the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. Inconsistent quarterback play between Jimmy Garoppolo and others certainly played a part in that regard.
The Raiders then decided it was time to part ways with McDaniels after falling to 3-5. News soon came out that a team meeting before the loss to the Lions may have ultimately been the final nail in his coffin.
Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported days after the firing that a disconnect had grown between McDaniels and the Las Vegas locker room, saying that players had gone above McDaniels to owner Mark Davis to discuss problems.
There was then a team meeting to air grievances where Glazer said that players “just unloaded” on McDaniels.
Antonio Pierce then stepped up to speak on behalf of McDaniels and the coaching staff and reportedly discussed the team culture he was part of with the New York Giants when they upset the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl.
This reportedly ruffled McDaniels’ feathers as a former New England assistant and ultimately led to Davis siding with Pierce and naming him the interim head coach.
“Then you really saw how divided that building got,” Glazer said. “That got up to Mark Davis, and I think Mark Davis looked at it and goes, ‘OK, I’m going to choose the guy who believes that we can win every single week, and that’s what his plan is going to be.'”
Ultimately, that sequence of events led to McDaniels being ousted by the Raiders and Pierce taking over as interim head coach. Pierce’s tenure began strong with two straight wins, but Las Vegas has since taken three straight losses and is again trending in the wrong direction, as the end of the regular season approaches.
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