As it turns out, the Las Vegas Raiders and quarterback Derek Carr enjoyed playing for interim head coach Rich Bisaccia once Jon Gruden was out amid his email scandal. While Bisaccia was the special teams coach under Gruden, it’s apparent that the dynamic changed in the locker room. Given how the 2022 NFL season went for the Silver and Black, did owner Mark Davis make the wrong call?
With Carr and the Raiders headed for a split, certain information is coming out. In particular, Raiders beat writer Hondo Carpenter has released an abundance of information in relation to Carr’s tenure. In a piece published on Sports Illustrated, Carpenter cites an anonymous team official as well as an unnamed player.
If you recall, Gruden backed Carr every year he was with the Raiders. We’d all hear the hearsay about him looking for another quarterback every offseason, but Gruden remained steadfast in his belief. In fact, their chemistry was on such a high level that one player said, “I think what Jon and Derek had going was magical. Derek was the guy everyone looked to.” Interestingly enough, Hondo revealed that Davis himself was never sold on Carr “as a player.” Gruden then took it to another level, making sure that Carr knew that, which sounds like some sort of ploy to motivate his signal-caller.
The Derek Carr and Rich Bisaccia dynamic
The relationship between Carr and Josh McDaniels was well documented this past season. Many fans felt as though McDaniels never really gave Carr a chance. In fact, it was revealed not that long ago that the Raiders’ brass had already checked out on Carr just weeks into the season. When Bisaccia took over, the dynamic in the locker room was very different.
Said player gave more insight into what things were like under Bisaccia. “He (Carr) loved Jon. But I don’t think he ever had a coach he enjoyed playing for more than Rich.”
A member of the Raiders’ organization also weighed in on Bisaccia’s tenure as boss. “I felt like we finally had our guy. Rich was a lot like Jon; he would call you out and hold you accountable, but it was different. With Gru (Gruden), you played for him. There was never a doubt he was the boss, and he could say things that stung and walk away laughing,” according to Hondo’s source.
It’s quite interesting to see how things changed from Jon Gruden to Rich Bisaccia. Gruden was always known as the ultimate disciplinarian. Bisaccia, for his part, was seen as more lax on that end, but according to Hondo’s anonymous source, it wasn’t quite like that. “With Rich, you played with him. I know he wasn’t on the field, but if he trusted you, you had a voice.”
Sounds like a positive environment all things considered. Former Raiders linebacker K.J. Wright also voiced a similar sentiment when talking about Bisaccia last month. All in all, it does make you wonder if Davis hired the wrong man.
*Top Photo: Yahoo Sports