Raiders Interim Coach Rich Bisaccia Pens Handwritten Notes to Players After Playoff Loss

Raiders interim coach Rich Bisaccia may or may not be the team's permanent coach going forward, but he made sure to thank those who he did coach this past season following Las Vegas' playoff loss on Saturday to the Bengals.

After the game, Bisaccia took the time to hand-write letters to his players thanking them for their efforts this past season, per 99.1 The Sports Animal host Vince Ferrara.

Bisaccia, 61, took over the interim coach role in mid-October, following coach Jon Gruden's resignation after the release of anti-LGBTQ+ and misogynistic emails.

He led Las Vegas to a 7–5 record after taking over this season and guided the franchise to its first playoff appearance since 2016.

Following the Raiders' 26–19 loss, quarterback Derek Carr offered a clear endorsement of the team's interim coach, saying, “I think we can all think that he's the right guy. He's proven that people listen to him. Our team listens to him. And I love him so much, I'm thankful for him. All those things will be decisions that I don't make, I don't get to make. I just play quarterback ... but with everything that went on, if you really look at what happened, all the pieces missing, everything that changed, yeah, he held it together.”

Defensive end Maxx Crosby said of Bisaccia: “We have so many guys that just fought and bought into what Coach Rich gave us. Coach Marinelli, coach Bradley, [Greg Olson], everybody—they stuck with us and we stuck with them. We just came up a little bit short. It's tough but I just know we'll be back. We'll be back and we'll have another opportunity.”

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The Raiders have had five head coaches—either interim of permanent—since 2014. On Monday, they requested permission to interview Patriots linebackers coach Jerod Mayo for their head coaching position, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The team also fired general manager Mike Mayock on Monday after three seasons with the organization. Per ESPN, the Raiders also requested permission to interview Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler for their open general manager role. 

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