Mark Davis pulled the plug on the Josh McDaniels/Dave Ziegler tandem earlier this week, ending an underwhelming one-plus-year run for the duo. Previous reports hinted that the owner fired McDaniels and Ziegler because of their mishandling of the quarterback position.
[RELATED: Raiders Fire Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler]
It started when the front office decided to hand Derek Carr a lucrative extension with a no-trade clause. While a divorce was inevitable following the 2022 campaign, Carr’s leverage meant the Raiders couldn’t receive anything in return for their quarterback. The organization exacerbated their issues when they gave Jimmy Garoppolo more than $30MM in guaranteed money. After failing his physical and going under the knife, the quarterback has started his Raiders career by tossing a league-leading nine interceptions.
McDaniels and Ziegler also drew the ire of Davis when they started Brian Hoyer over rookie Aidan O’Connell in Week 7, with the veteran backup tossing a pair of interceptions in an eventual loss to the lowly Bears.
While the duo’s issues at the QB position played a significant role in their firings, it sounds like Davis could have let that slide if the Raiders took a step forward elsewhere. Instead, the owner told The Athletic’s Tashan Reed that he saw “regression” from his team, and that was what played the biggest role in Tuesday night’s decision.
Davis provided some more insight into his decision to move on from his head coach and GM, and he also touched on the promotions of Champ Kelly and Antonio Pierce. We’ve compiled the notable quotes below:
On his decision to fire both McDaniels and Ziegler:
“I just didn’t see the progress. I saw regression.”
On what attracted him to McDaniels in the first place:
“I was really excited because I believe Josh McDaniels has a very fertile offensive mind and I’ve seen him in the past be able to adjust to so many different variables. I thought that he could bring a fresh, explosive offensive mind to the Raiders.”
On the decision to name assistant GM Champ Kelly as the interim general manager:
“Had I not done the pair of Dave and Josh, Champ may have gotten the job at that time. We were fortunate and grateful that he decided to come on board as the assistant general manager. So, there was not even a question as to who would actually step into that position.”
On the decision to name linebackers coach Antonio Pierce as the interim head coach:
“I wasn’t very familiar with Antonio over the course of the last 1 1/2 years or so, but I’d gotten to know him a little bit. When I saw Antonio’s background and resume, I was intrigued. So, when I sat down with him and interviewed him, I just felt he was the right guy at the right time to fit the role that I was looking for.”
On what he hopes to see from the Raiders for the rest of the 2023 season:
“I’d like to see progress and I’d like to see the culture of the team together. I won’t say that we lost the culture because those guys never quit. Even when they were behind, they continually played. They played really, really hard. I think it’s a great group of young men and it’ll be interesting to see with new leadership whether we can get more out of it.”
On how he’ll approach his head coach/GM search next offseason:
“This time, I don’t really have anybody in mind that would potentially prejudice my thinking, so to speak. My thought process is wide open. And there’s a very good chance that the head coach and general manager that we have right now may end up getting the jobs.”
He should hire Mike Mayock and Rich Bisaccia… Oh, wait. Seriously, though, I thought they deserved a chance for a year or two. I knew McDaniels would flop.
The same Mayock that absolutely bombed several drafts in a row that set our franchise back a decade? Good call.
If you recall, Jon Gruden was actually making the draft decsions. You don’t know if the bad picks were Mayock or Gruden, but Gruden had the final say. My bigger point was Bisaccia because after all the turmoil, he still took them to the playoffs. He should have had a chance to keep the job for at least a year or two.
We can’t be certain, but imho, Gruden was trying to draft “Raider types”, regardless of ability. Even worse, it often felt like he was trying to be the smartest guy in the room by drafting players well before their expected slot.
There were a lot of “character picks”. I can understand that, but the guys still have to have the talent to be worth it, or the culture will never translate.
And, in Mayock’s defense, the 2019 draft wasn’t bad. The 2020 draft definitely was. We discussed a little in the last thread, but 2019 better the Raiders Jacobs, Crosby, and Renfrow…one of whom survived the McDaniels transition intact.
As for “mishandling the quarterback”… well, Mark, you fired two people, but there were three hands in that cookie jar.
Bisaccia definitely helped weather the storm but we were extremely lucky that season to get to where we did. The lack of talent on our roster has been apparent for a while, and exacerbated by very poor draft results. We added and re-signed some nice offensive toys when McDaniels came to town but the infrastructure wasn’t fixed. I have said it and will continue to say it, our offensive line would make any QB look atrocious. Now we have our identity back, I’m hoping that O’Connell looks good and we put up 50 on Sunday, but I will still tamper my expectations until I see weekly improvement. The Giants sure are a nice team to have on the schedule coming out of such a debacle though lol.
So Mark didn’t like the Carr or Garp deals but let them go through anyways? Every fan here and elsewhere knew they were the same average QB’s, just a different name.
I feel for ya Raiders’ fans. It’s going to be a long time before you win again.
I will give credit to Garappolo and Carr-both were much better when playing for someone else.
It’s the offensive line honestly. Last season they at least did well run blocking, now they can’t do either.
That’s true. Of course, having a coach who refuses to adapt to his best players also doesn’t help, either.
Fired two plus Jimmy GQ back to the Pats….
How about he discuss a new haircut?
McDaniels inherited a playoff team, albeit not a strong team. It looked like he dismantled it to get the players he wanted for the system he had. Problem is that takes years to do, and with an already playoff caliber roster that’s hard to justify to ownership and to fans. They showed flashes of great offense but couldn’t sustain drives and get points. Jimmy G missing Adams twice for TDs while they let Detroit run all over them, after losing to Chicago, sealed the deal.
I watched every snap of that game and although Jimmy isn’t a HOF QB, there aren’t many guys who would’ve have success with how bad their pass protection is. Jimmy definitely missed those throws to Davante, but in his defense he was running for his life and taking shots from the defense all game. This team needs to be fixed from the inside out and they need to have better guys up front on both sides of the ball to truly start improving.
Jimmy was playing scared. Thats not good. His throws were reflecting that.
If you watched the Titans rookie QB last night Will Levis against the Steelers. He was getting the heat but he was not playing scared and making the throws (granted Will has a better arm than Jimmy).
I think Aiden O’Connell will be similar to Levis. Jimmy just isn’t that great. It’s the same line Carr had last year. I hope the Raiders know what a lot of people know. Carr is a FAR better QB than Jimmy.
Levis is also a 24 year old rookie with great size and athleticism. He shouldn’t be struggling to recover from hits just yet.
O’Connell really didn’t look more in sync than either of the other quarterbacks. Ironically, I actually think Hoyer was most comfortable, though he was far from it due to the constant pressure. His receivers also dropped too many passes, and a few forced plays (which seemed to be called plays, to me) created turnovers. I’m not saying that Hoyer should start or anything like that, but I do think that it’s significant that the only passer who seemed to know the offense was the long time McDaniels backup. That tells me that the offense was not tailored to the players very well. Even Hoyer got a tactful of McDaniels during the Broncos game-which the Raiders ended up winning.
Jimmy G was also a statue in that game. Part of this might be injuries, but part of this is I don’t think a rolling pocket, or anything else, is part of the Raiders repertoire. The Lions knew exactly where they needed to meet.
I think we can assume anyone who presents themselves to Mark Davis as a candidate for a Raiders job has some serious self destructive tendencies.
He fired all those guys yet his barber remains employed.
Would you really want to tell a guy holding sharp scissors close to your head that he’s no longer getting a paycheck?
Looks like a place where careers go to die.
There’s still enough talent on that roster that someone may be able to turn the Raiders back into a 9-7 team in pretty short order (oh, sorry, 9-8 team). More stability would help. When Goodell had Gruden thrown out of the league (by leaking private emails), he really did the Raiders a serious disservice. Gruden at least understood the Raiders and had a plan.
Sell the team and get an owner that has a clue.
Just put competent people in place and be patient.
Jim Harbaugh
Now to what really happened.. Mark toured the lions front office, had convos with staff , had dinner with Sheila Ford .. talked up a franchise digging itself out of the gutter , thru solid drafting and an inspirational head coach that’s been thru it himself.. about cleaning the patriot stench (air of arrogance) out of the office. He got on that plane super impressed, talked to his stars (Adams, Crosby ect)after the game and on the flight home .. slept on it , woke up and fired everyone that smelled .. searched his coaching staff found the most MCDC guy and put him in command .. they already knew Champ Kelly was a draft and develop guy (which is why the kept him close to Ziegler ) and let him run the show.. Mark knows they aren’t dead in the water, they just lack motivation .. if the raiders can play inspired football the rest of the way Pierce will keep the job .. if not the next coach will be a former player (I personally think Mike Vrabel is their guy)(who make no mistake will be fired) ..