Following a Week 9 loss against the Cincinnati Bengals in blowout fashion, with a final score of 24-41, the Las Vegas Raiders opted to fire offensive coordinator Luke Getsy. Getsy wasn’t the only staff member to get the ax in Sin City; quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach James Cregg have been let go as well.
Head coach Antonio Pierce is hoping these changes elevate his team’s offense moving forward.
Las Vegas’ offense is in desperate need of some sort of elevation. Halfway through the season, the Raiders ranks 29th in yards per contest (280.2) with an average of 18.7 points per outing; the 26th-highest mark league-wide.
Sin City’s offensive struggles are made head-scratching by the team’s immediate success each week. Since Week 5, the Raiders have scored a touchdown on their initial drive in four-of-five contests. Unbelievably, the remaining 50 drives in this timespan yielded four touchdowns in total with three coming in the final minutes of 20-point deficits.
Beyond that, rookie tight end Brock Bowers has totaled the second-most receptions (57) this season in the midst of these struggles.
However, despite the shortcomings of quarterback Gardner Minshew, the passing game hasn’t been the worst part of Las Vegas’ offense – instead, the running game holds that title.
Under Getsy, the Raiders ranked 32-of-32 in yards per carry with 3.5 on average. Additionally, no team across the NFL moved the chains at a less efficient rate than Las Vegas’ mark of 17.6%.
That hasn’t stopped the Raiders from averaging 22.1 rushes per contest, though. That’s where Pierce can’t escape without blame.
Through it all, Pierce has remained adamant about running the football, insisting his team must establish the ground-game. His persistence has undoubtedly influenced play-calling that otherwise would’ve likely been centered around Bowers and other pass-catchers.
Luke Getsy out: What now for the Las Vegas Raiders?
Regardless of who takes over play-calling duties for the Raiders, that individual will almost certainly be replaced at the season’s end.
But the Raiders will cross that bridge when they get there.
In the meantime, CBS insider Jonathan Jones believes Scott Turner, who previously served as the offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders, makes the most sense to take over at the now-vacant coordinator position.
Turner, currently employed as the pass-game coordinator for the Raiders, called offensive plays in Washington from 2020-2022. In 2020, the then-called Football Team totaled the third-least yardage while scoring the eighth-least points.
Things did manage to pick up in the following years, however. Washington finished outside the bottom-10 in yards per game in both ’21 and ’22. The team couldn’t escape the bottom-10 in points per outing in either year, though.
If given the role, will Turner be able to lead an offense with Brock Bowers to some success? That will be the next question if he receives a promotion.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
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