The Las Vegas Raiders are set to play their second preseason game of the year at home this Sunday. Playing in front of Raider Nation at Allegiant Stadium will be a welcome sight for many, including head coach Josh McDaniels.
Allegiant has been off and running now for nearly two years. It’s hailed as one of the crown jewels of the NFL, a true modern masterpiece in terms of football stadiums. For McDaniels, Sunday will mark his debut as head coach at Allegiant and in front of Raiders fans. While speaking to the media recently, McDaniels touched on various subjects, including the arena. McDaniels also stated that the matchup this weekend with the Minnesota Vikings will be instrumental in getting ready for the real thing.
“I’ve never coached there. I’ve been in it a few times since January, so I’m super excited. What a great place to play. I’m excited to be with our fans and Raider Nation in there and just see what that’s like during the course of the game. I understand it’s a preseason game, but I think our team’s excited. We have a lot of guys that have never played in the stadium either.”
Coaching at Allegiant Stadium, The Raiders Are Excited
McDaniels is obviously excited and looking forward to getting going as the new on-field boss. This will mark his second stint as a head coach, and it’s quite endearing for him to be embracing Raider Nation and the overall experience of being with the Raiders. We all know it’s preseason as does McDaniels, but taking into account he has yet to make his debut along with several new faces on the roster set to make their debuts, it’s optimism all around.
How is Josh McDaniels using the second preseason game to prepare?
The game between the Raiders and the Vikings is slated for a 1:25 pm start time at Allegiant on Sunday. McDaniels is looking forward to this due to the fact that many of the games for the Silver and Black this season will be in that time slot. The head coach went into a bit more detail regarding this.
“I’m kind of excited [that] we have it in the one o’clock—the 1:25 pm time slot, because that’s where most of our games will be. It’ll help us simulate our preparation. We’re going to use this for that as well. And there are a lot of logistical things that you want to kind of get out of the way; from getting to the stadium, to where do I park, to how early do I need to leave. All those things you get an opportunity to go through a dry run of doing. I’m definitely excited. This is going to be fun on Sunday.”
I’m sure all of Raider Nation is excited alongside you, Coach.
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*Top Photo: Manica Architecture/Architizer