Less than two weeks after Raiders owner Mark Davis sent Josh McDaniels to the unemployment line, details are surfacing about the “why” of it all. Dating back to McDaniels’ time in New England and Denver, the cracks were always there to show that the hiring was a terrible decision. Now, players are unveiling just how fractured the locker room really was.
Josh McDaniels Was Never The Guy For The Raiders
According to SI’s Hondo Carpenter, multiple Raiders have voiced why the McDaniels era never had a chance in Las Vegas. Some of the quotes are surprising, while others hammer home a sentiment that many within Raider Nation felt all along: Josh McDaniels is not a leader of men.
These quotes do come with a caveat, however. In an unsurprising turn, all the statements are clouded in anonymity. It’s anyone’s best guess which players said these words, but Carpenter has proven his connections a few times beforehand, so they shouldn’t be completely disregarded.
One player was quoted as saying McDaniels lives in his own world and had very little self-awareness when gauging the feelings of the locker room. Rather than hearing what his players had to say, the 47-year-old allegedly remained steadfast in the “Patriot Way”, believing the players would eventually fall in line.
Anonymous Quotes From The Vegas Locker Room Paint A Clearer Picture
“I don’t think he knew how unhappy, how miserable it was. No one was having any fun,” the same Raider said in Carpenter’s report. This quote mirrors the vibe McDaniels gave off in his media appearances, which includes any time he was mic’d up in-game. Inauthentic is the word we’re looking for.
But that wasn’t it. No, another quote grabbed my attention the most. While buzzwords like “tone deaf” and “clueless” were thrown around, the latter term rings as the best description if you ask me. It’s not that McDaniels is a mean-spirited human or someone who goes on constant tirades; it’s about his inability to read a room, whatever word you want to use to describe it.
Not all Raiders players had animosity toward McDaniels and Co. All-Pro wideout Davante Adams went on record saying he didn’t have any beef with JMD. Sometimes, a change in direction is necessary, a different personality leading the way to help the entire roster mesh. Adams thinks the time was right for a change, but he will always be thankful to the previous regime for bringing him to Las Vegas.
A Shake Up Was Necessary To Salvage The 2023 Campaign
In the final anonymous quote of the report, a teammate of Adams echoed that thought. “I don’t hate him, I like Josh [McDaniels], but I don’t think he was tone deaf. I think he was clueless,” says a direct line from the Carpenter report.
What say you, Raider Nation? Do any of these quotes surprise you? Or is this exactly the type of feeling you had toward Josh McDaniels and his coaching approach? Either way, this dubious chapter of Raiders football is firmly in the rearview mirror. Antonio Pierce is in the driver’s seat now.
*Top Photo: Quinn Harris/Getty Images
