9:51am: Rather than Turner, the Raiders are promoting quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree to OC, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. McDaniels also hired Hardegree in 2022, while he and Kelly were both with the Broncos (2014) and Bears (2015). Unlike Turner, Hardegree does not have play-calling experience. He joined the Raiders after stints as an offensive assistant with the Jefs (2019-20) and Patriots (2021). That said, Hardegree, 39, did coach the Dolphins’ quarterbacks for three seasons under Adam Gase prior to following Gase to New York.
9:45am: Coming out of the overnight firing of Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler, the Raiders are also moving on from their offensive coordinator. They are firing Mick Lombardi, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer.
Lombardi, 35, operated as a non-play-calling OC during his two seasons in Las Vegas. While Lombardi was not a longtime Patriots staffer like McDaniels and Ziegler, he did come over from New England in 2022. The Raiders hired Lombardi after he spent the previous three seasons in Foxborough.
Lombardi’s name did not come up much during McDaniels’ tenure, but the two’s ties did not leave the young assistant on steady terrain. Mick Lombardi is the son of former NFL GM Michael Lombardi; Matt Lombardi also joined the Raiders’ staff as assistant wide receivers coach this offseason. This marked Mick’s first shot as an offensive coordinator.
Mick Lombardi served as the Patriots’ assistant quarterbacks coach in 2019 and the team’s wide receivers coach from 2020-21. While Jakobi Meyers — a Lombardi charge in New England — has played well since signing a three-year, $33MM deal, the Raiders’ offense exited Week 8 ranked 30th in DVOA and in points scored. The team has not scored more than 20 points on offense all season, with Maxx Crosby‘s safety being the only time the team broke out of the teens — in a Week 6 win over the Patriots.
In quickly moving on from their second-year power brokers, the Raiders made assistant GM Champ Kelly their interim general manager and bumped linebackers coach Antonio Pierce — a first-time NFL staffer — to interim HC. The team is now considering pass-game coordinator Scott Turner for the OC role, NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo tweets. Turner would be likely thrust into a play-calling OC post, with Pierce not a realistic candidate to call offensive plays. Turner served in that role for the past three seasons, in Washington, but Ron Rivera fired him following the 2022 campaign.
Prior to joining McDaniels and Bill Belichick, who also employed Michael Lombardi during two different stints (in Cleveland and New England), Mick Lombardi worked as a lower-level staffer with the Jets and 49ers. He has been an NFL staffer since 2013, breaking into the league on Jim Harbaugh‘s third 49ers staff. Turner, 42, is also a second-generation NFL staffer. Scott’s father, Norv, coached the Raiders from 2004-05.
Dumpster fire. Mark Davis burned down a promising situation by failing to retain Basaccia and instead handing the reigns to two individuals who are incompetent in leadership roles; they significantly worsened the roster–outside of trading for a star WR who they decided wasn’t worth implementing into gameplans. Now he’s out here firing everyone… which may actually be a good long term decision. For the sake of Raiders’ fans, hopefully he’s learning.
Not sure how quickly things can get better, though.
You’re right, I think. McDaniels was a terrible hire and needed to go, but the Raiders are still in a bind this year in terms of who will take over. There is not a lot of experience left on the staff. Midseason firings are so impactful partially for that reason. Maybe this is now a developmental year at this point in Davis’ eyes-he wants to try to develop O’Connell as a QB, and Pierce as a coach (which isn’t to say that he is committed to either one long term, of course). I confess that I don’t have high hopes for the former, but I am intrigued to see what the future holds for the latter.
I agree with assessment in its entirety. If nothing else, they can determine if O’Connell is worth rostering as a backup and tank in an attempt to land Williams, Maye, McCarthy, Penix, etc, while seeing if Pierce shows any signs of being a competent HC.
The Bears also fired a coach for “workplace behavior” today.
The Patriot Way…..works great when transplanted
The Patriot Way = Tom Brady
Brady is essentially a Raider at this point in all but name, so the original comment does have some merit.
Exactly raiders R the definition of raging dumpster fire. Tough 2B raider fan these days.
Lombardi got the raw end of that deal. Dude wasn’t even calling the atrocious plays but got found guilty by association lol
The hand of many…is a straight flush.
As a Pats fan this whole situation is a dumpster fire in Vegas. Josh is a very good coordinator and not head coach. Mark Davis signed off on the contracts as the owner and it backfired big time. Maybe Davis should look in the mirror and hire football people to do their jobs correctly
The Jefs?!