There was no shortage of reactions to the Las Vegas Raiders’ decision to fire head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. Fans were tired of this regime, and you know who agreed with them? Pat McAfee.
While McAfee explained his take on the firings, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio took a different approach with his remarks. Rather than discuss the aftermath and what the future holds for the Silver and Black, Florio states that the Raiders should’ve never hired McDaniels in the first place.
Every NFL media member had a take on Wednesday following the aftermath of the firings, so let’s dive into what Florio and McAfee had to say.
Pat McAfee offers his reaction to the Raiders firings
Las Vegas’ 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions put the McDaniels issues on the national media platform. The defeat on “Monday Night Football” allowed everyone to see what Raiders fans have been saying about the team’s struggles under the 47-year-old.
Fans’ voices were initially ignored when owner Mark Davis told a group to “smarten up” after calls for him to fire McDaniels. While it’s easy to brush off fans, it’s not easy to ignore the ESPN cameras capturing Davante Adams’ frustration.
As a result, the franchise had to pull the plug on the McDaniels era. Now, was it the right decision? ESPN’s Pat McAfee praised the Raiders’ decision despite not being a fan of people losing their employment.
“I don’t want anybody to lose their jobs ever,” McAfee said on Wednesday’s edition of “The Pat McAfee Show.” “Anybody that wants to work, I hope you have a job. We’re lacking people with work ethic, so I never want anybody to ever lose a job, especially people that would like to work. With that being said, I’m also a big fan of ownership telling their fans, ‘Yeah, I ain’t happy with this s–t either.’ And that feels like this particular move.”
The Raiders named Antonio Pierce as interim head coach and Champ Kelly as interim general manager. It’s a Hail Mary move from Las Vegas to save their 2023 season. Will it work? The Silver and Black get a bad New York Giants team this Sunday. They’ll need a win here to help their chase back to .500.
Mike Florio: Raiders shouldn’t have hired Josh McDaniels
Pierce will look to follow in the footsteps of Rich Bisaccia, who, as interim head coach, guided the Silver and Black to the playoffs. Eventually, the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator took over for Bisaccia.
Hindsight is 20/20, and it’s easier to offer an opinion now on McDaniels. Nonetheless, Florio can’t help but think that the now-Green Bay Packers special teams coordinator should still be in Las Vegas for how he navigated the squad through the entire Jon Gruden situation.
“Davis never should have hired him,” Florio told Rich Eisen on Wednesday’s edition of “The Rich Eisen Show.” “I heard one of your folks say that Bisaccia should have gotten the job. Yes. Look at what Bisaccia did under the most difficult circumstances. All the Gruden stuff that happened. The emails, the firing, or whatever, [and] the Henry Ruggs situation in 2021—for crying out loud.
“What Mike Mayock and Rich Bisaccia did to get that team to the playoffs—they almost beat the Bengals, who almost beat the Rams in the Super Bowl—should have kept Bisaccia, should have kept [Mayock]. That was the first mistake. And hiring McDaniels without a commitment to keeping him long-term was the second mistake.”
Now that the Raiders have changed the coaching staff and front office, what are your expectations for the rest of the season? Can Pierce pull a Bisaccia? Are you simply waiting for this campaign to finish to see what regime comes in the offseason?
Suppose Pierce gets them even within a shot of the playoffs. Should Las Vegas consider him for the permanent job and avoid repeating the Bisaccia mistake? Or do you have a different direction the Silver and Black should take? Let us know.
*Top Photo: Joshua R. Gateley/ESPN Images
If Pierce takes them close or makes the playoffs, he deserves the job. However if it’s more of the same crap, back the brinks truck up and get Bill Cowher, and don’t take no for an answer. He will definitely right the ship and in 4yrs a SB.
Maybe in his prime but he’s too comfortable in a media job. Being a H/C in NFL is a full time 7×24 gig, you need a younger guy in a younger league like Pierce. I’m all in, his style and demeaner will attract players to come Vegas. McClown couldn’t do that.
By Tony Brucks
Going out (way out) on a limb here and saying Bissacia would not of played out well long term. His case was all about the players rallying around him in a bad situation/event. It would most likely not of been sustainable after that year.
The situation this time is not the same as it was with Gruden. Though the same holds true for Pierce. If Pierce is able to turn things around then if I was an owner I would certainly take a serious look at it when the season ends. Being realistic I dont see much improvement given the sad state of our offensive line and rookie QB. BUT…stranger things have happened.
(by GTHANG)
X’s and O’s guys are a dime a dozen. Anyone can steal plays from Shanahan, Reid, and any other sharp offensive mind.
True leaders are hard to come by. AP really impressed me at his presser, something I never once thought in the all of McD’s time here. He came off as mealy-mouthed, smug, arrogant . . . The direct opposite of a leader.
The fact that AP rocked the gear and loved the Raiders in his youth (“I was Born This Way,” wow, l got chills hearing that) made me like this team again after a year and a half of disgust.
Let’s not blow it this time. If AP turns this mess around, let’s reward him with at least another year.
The best head coach to come out of NE –and it’s not even close– is Mike Vrabel, a Patriot linebacker who never coached under Belichick.
Vrabel has never had an elite QB but his teams are always tough and disciplined. They always compete.
Was John Madden an offensive guru? Was Don Shula? Chuck Noll?
We should be chasing leaders, not gurus.
Right on
Hiring Josh & Ziegler was an atrocious signing, I don’t care if Ron Wolf advised him to, Raider fans are collectively very educated about the Black & Silver brand. Nobody forgets the snow job game or wanted to adopt the “patriot way”. Yes it was a bad hire but credit Mark Davis with recognizing the mistake and cutting them loose. The Pierce hiring rings true to me. Dan Campbell, Demarco Ryan and Robert Saleh are all fiery H/C s who have surrounded themselves with good coordinators. Let’s hope Mark Davis follows this success footprint.