The Las Vegas Raiders have rather surprisingly parted ways with head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler after just eight weeks of the 2023 NFL season. Why it happened like that and why now is difficult to say, even if it is understandable somewhere.
A classification of sport.de-Editor Marcus Blumberg.
Anyone looking for a common thread will find it relatively easily in the Josh McDaniels case. As in his first head coaching position with the Denver Broncos in 2009 and 2010, the most important measures ultimately went wrong with the Las Vegas Raiders. As was the case then, this time he caused a stir by parting ways with an established quarterback who was certainly not the main problem and bringing in a new one who also didn’t meet expectations.
In contrast to back then, it is fair to say that the change seemed much less absurd. At that time, Rocket Arm Jay Cutler had to leave and was replaced by the epitome of average Kyle Orton, before Tim Tebow was taken in round 1 of the draft for some incomprehensible reason. This time, franchise QB Derek Carr had to leave – admittedly after his weakest season in years under McDaniels – and was replaced by an old acquaintance in Jimmy Garoppolo. The floor was significantly higher this time, after all Jimmy G had already demonstrated a certain level of competence by participating in the Super Bowl.
In addition, McDaniels is unlikely to have made any friends in the team with further measures such as trading Darren Waller to the other coast shortly after his wedding to Las Vegas Aces player Kelsey Plum. Or by demoting the hitherto important and popular slot receiver Hunter “3rd and” Renfrow to an extra. And his affinity for missed field goals didn’t help the team’s success either.
Las Vegas Raiders: The offense doesn’t work
Ultimately, however, McDaniels failed once again due to the fact that his offense didn’t work. Offense is his background, so one would have at least expected that part of the game to be successful. Instead, the team ranks 29th in the league with -24.1 percent DVOA (source: “FTNFantasy). They rank 27th with -0.115 EPA/Play, which means something like: This offense is anything but efficient.” PFF” has the Raiders in 22nd place with an offense grade of 67.5, but as is well known, their colleagues don’t necessarily look for tangible results.
And we’re talking about a group that has poured tremendous resources into this unit since McDaniels and his GM Dave Ziegler arrived from New England in early 2022. The expensive trade and expensive contract for Davante Adams is the first to be mentioned here. Jakobi Meyers was brought in in the spring and Josh Jacobs was ultimately retained for a short time. In addition, it was possible to make the former shambles of the offensive line somewhat stable despite major renovations – “ESPN” has it with a pass block win rate of 61 percent (8th place).
And yet, in eight games this year, the Raiders have only managed to score more than 19 points in a game once. Unsurprisingly, the three wins this season came against teams with negative records (Broncos, Packers, Patriots). And even those were tight boxes with never a difference of more than four points.
And yet the timing of this separation seems strange. What exactly prompted owner Mark Davis to give up now? After Week 8. Just a few hours after the trade deadline? In a position where one can even vaguely hope for the playoffs (1.5 games behind 7th place in the AFC). McDaniels and Ziegler are said to have been actively working on possible trades before Davis threw them out the door. It’s like letting a general manager do the draft quickly before putting him in front of the gate – the Jets did that a few years ago and caused a lot of chaos for the subsequent regime.
NFL: McDaniels’ dismissal not effective right now
Yes, McDaniels and Ziegler have obviously failed with their course. But if you take a step like that, there’s little point in taking it now. A clear cut at the end of the season would have been much more elegant, because now you create extra chaos and a situation in which precious little can happen over the remaining nine weeks of the season that would improve the situation.
The Raiders will now hope that, like in 2021, the team will be shaken up after the separation from then head coach Jon Gruden following his scandalous emails. Back then, Rich Bisaccia managed to lead his team into the playoffs. At that time, however, the team was in a better position overall. This year, despite major investments, there is a lack of substance – despite everything, they were still in the process of restructuring, which was initiated in 2022 with aggressive moves. But it was already clear back then that this team was designed to be top-heavy and would only really be on a stable footing after a long time.
However, we have not really made any further progress in this endeavor today. In this respect, it is likely that this year’s interim coach Antonio Pierce is only a temporary solution. Whoever takes over will once again have to answer the question of which direction the Raiders should go. Then maybe with the next new quarterback, because Garoppolo’s contract is extremely terminable after this season.
And McDaniels? Sooner or later he’ll probably be back in New England, after all, that was the ultimate move after his release. At least he got a very decent rookie season out of Mac Jones. The QB has not reached this level again to this day.
For now, however, the chaos in Vegas leaves only losers. Somehow fitting for the City of Sin.
Marcus Blumberg