NFL Fans Ripped Raiders’ Mark Davis for One Decision He Made Before Failed Josh McDaniels Era
The Raiders fired coach Josh McDaniels late Tuesday night, roughly 24 hours after the team played terribly in a 26–14 loss to the Lions.
McDaniels didn’t even last two seasons as the head coach, compiling a 9–16 record on the Las Vegas sideline. He didn’t finish two seasons as Broncos coach either, going 11–17. And he never even started with the Colts after initially accepting that job.
That lack of success led many to question why the Raiders hired McDaniels in the first place. The choice was even more puzzling considering that the team was winning with interim coach Rich Bisaccia, promoted from assistant head coach and special teams coordinator after Jon Gruden resigned.
Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis is catching heat once again for not promoting former interim head coach Rich Bisaccia when he gave the now-fired Josh McDaniels the job.
Gary A. Vasquez/USA Today network
Bisaccia went 7–5 as Las Vegas’s coach, leading the team to a playoff berth. The Raiders lost to the Bengals (the eventual AFC champions), 26–19, in the wild-card round. But Bisaccia was just the second interim coach to take a team to the playoffs, joining Bruce Arians. And it was only the Raiders’ second playoff berth since 2002.
Despite players and coaches supporting Bisaccia getting the permanent job, Davis either wanted a clean break from Gruden’s staff or was dazzled by hiring a high-profile coach from Bill Belichick’s championship regime with the Patriots. Less than two seasons later, McDaniels is gone. That led many NFL fans and media to point out that the Raiders should’ve just kept Bisaccia. Here’s a sampling:
Bisaccia is currently the special teams coordinator for the Packers. No other NFL team wanted to give him a head-coaching opportunity either. He likely didn’t want to see a fellow coach fired. But like many in the NFL world, Bisaccia might be thinking about what might have been.
