It has been argued that because of the substantial amount of money tied up in John Gruden’s guaranteed contract ($40 million of his $100 million agreement) that the Las Vegas Raiders simply can’t afford to part ways with Josh McDaniels. Firing McDaniels would mean that the Raiders would essentially be paying two NFL head coaches NOT to coach for the Raiders.
McDaniels inherited a 10-7 playoff team that improved it’s offensive firepower by adding Davante Adams to the roster via trade. The offensive-minded coach would surely thrive in his new environment, right? Wrong!
He turned a team that had started to find an identity, into a team that couldn’t find a way to keep a lead. Not only was McDaniels and his coaching staff bad, but they were historically bad as they blew one halftime lead, after another, after another until they made history with their 5th blown halftime lead in a single season.
He handcuffed his quarterback that obviously worked best when he was able to audible to his heart’s content to make things happen on the field. He couldn’t gameplan past the first half of games, and he simply does not command any kind of respect from the team.
This is the exact same guy that took an 8-8 Denver Broncos team, kept them at 8-8 his first season, and then tanked them into a 3-9 meltdown in his second year before being rightfully fired. I can see Dennis Green right now yelling out “he is who we thought he was…he is who we thought he was!” And Mark Davis has let him off the hook.
The real question here is not whether the team can afford the monetary loss from firing another head coach, but whether the team can afford to continue paying a head coach who isn’t worth the price of admission. He is essentially fool’s gold, as he blinded Mr. Davis with Tom Brady’s stats and shiny Super Bowl Rings.
If I were a betting man, I would instantly take the under if the bar was set at McDaniels surviving 8 or more games in the 2023 season. Let’s hope Mr. Davis wises up long before too much damage has been incurred.
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