Fired Patriots Ex Coach Josh McDaniels 'Broke' After 'Vicious' Raiders Team Meeting
In New England, there are still echoes of what Josh McDaniels has accomplished as a coach. As Patriots QB Mac Jones said this week after the Las Vegas Raiders fired McDaniels as their head coach, "I have a lot of respect for Josh and his family," Jones said. "I had a great experience with him ... We have a good relationship.''
That "respect'' and "great experience'' and "good relationship'' is apparently not something the Raiders players feel as reports are now flooding out of the desert with news of in-his-face unhappiness with the coach and another level of joy now that he's gone.
"We talked to sources inside the building,'' NFL Network's The Insiders reports, "and (McDaniels' firing) was not as surprising to them. It goes back to last Thursday's practice before the Lions loss. McDaniels had just had a vicious team meeting. Players, coaches had ripped into him, it was ugly — they voiced their displeasure.''
The problems apparently continued throughout that day, NFL Network adding, "Then at practice a couple of hours later, he was described as 'not himself.' He was distant, he let plays happen instead of correcting. Players felt he was there in body but not in spirit ... It broke him."
Josh McDaniels in happier times, coaching up Pro Bowl rookie Mac Jones.
McDaniels finishes his time with the Raiders with a 9-16 record in less than two full seasons. It was his second try as a head coach, as he was 11-17 as the head coach of the Broncos from 2009 through 12 games of 2010 before being fired in Denver.
When Patriots quarterback Jones entered the NFL as a rookie in 2021, his offensive coordinator working under head coach Bill Belichick was McDaniels; obviously, something worked - so much so that there is now natural speculation that the coach might eventually resurface as an assistant in New England.
But when he shows up here or anywhere with his resume, it can be assumed that Raiders players won't be listed as references.
From star receiver Davante Adams: “It was time, obviously, one way or the other for some type of change. Just to bring a little juice in and revitalize the team a little bit. ... There is a definitive shift now where we can say things are different and we have an opportunity to change it.''
From star defensive end Maxx Crosby: "It’s already hard enough to go out there and do what we do, so if you’re walking into the building not enjoying it, it’s going to be even harder.”
From receiver Hunter Refrow: “We’re not walking on eggshells everywhere (anymore).”
