Whether you were a fan of Josh McDaniels or not, did Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis blindside him with his firing? Let’s not forget Dave Ziegler either; sure, they’re both gone, but the way things went down merits a second look.
In the aftermath of this week’s musings, Davis is now on record, noting that he didn’t care for the direction of his team. While he “had great hopes” for his former coach-front office duo, he did what he felt was right. Still, some of what took place was odd, if not off-putting for some. For example, ESPN’s Mike Greenberg absolutely annihilated Davis this week. Essentially, he cited Davis’s failure to give his organization some semblance of stability. Well, that trend continued after Monday night, when Davis jettisoned everyone, literally.
The Raiders are a circus… Ouch?
“There’s something that needs to be said here before we move on. The first is, never go to the Raiders if you’re looking for stability. That’s a terrible idea. Mark Davis has turned the Raiders into a laughingstock and a circus.”
A bit harsh, but the results do speak for themselves since Mark inherited the mantle from his late father, Al. What stands out in the way it all went down was that both McDaniels and Ziegler had been told their jobs were safe. Both Raiders beat writer Hondo Carpenter, and NFL insider Jeff Howe from The Athletic back up that claim—so much for job security.
Say what you will about Davis, but his efforts to improve the Raiders haven’t been due to a lack of care. He loves his team as much as anyone in Raider Nation, but can you blame him for buying into the “Patriot Way” hype? The man wants to win so badly, so why not imitate what has worked? The problem is, if there’s no Bill Belichick (or Tom Brady as a player), it won’t work and never will. McDaniels and Ziegler inherited a playoff team, and the Raiders regressed in almost every facet.
The fact that Mark Davis was willing to eat Josh McDaniels’ contract shows how serious he is, but more importantly, how much he wants to win “now.”
*Top Photo: Getty Images