Raider Nation Deserves Mark Davis Not to be Duplicitous
HENDERSON, Nev.--I have met multiple NFL owners (including with Al Davis) for several decades as a journalist.
While they are all diverse in personality, it was not until I met his son, Mark Davis, that I met one who came off as a "regular" guy.
I like him. I know of acts of kindness he has done, not searching for credit, and I believe he loves the Raider Nation. This article isn’t an attack on his character, but rather calls out his handling of a tough situation.
That is why as his 2022 season is spiraling out of control, his fan base deserves him to -- at the very least, not be duplicitous.
On Jan. 31, 2022, I sat in a room with Mark Davis as he announced hiring Dave Ziegler as his new general manager and Josh McDaniels as his head coach.
While saddened to have had to fire his dear friend Jon Gruden, Davis brimmed with confidence that he had raided his nemesis, Bob Kraft and the New England Patriots, for the coach that nearly every other NFL team coveted.
Davis had taken a calculated risk.
For the second time since he took over for his father, Davis had fired a coach who had taken him to the NFL playoffs.
Rich Bisaccia is a rare coach who was able to mix discipline with the warm personality of a father figure. Say what you want about the interim coach, he was tough on his players, and they loved it.
The best way to describe the Rich Bisaccia era was when one veteran told me: "We didn't play for Rich, we played with him. He would chew your ass and then hug you when you had to miss your kid's birthday."
But that didn't matter to Davis. The owner of a franchise whose motto is "Just Win Baby," his former coach had done that, but he had visions of Super Bowls dancing in his head, and he was confident that this was the way to go.
Davis is the owner and he had every right to do that, and McDaniels very well may be the man to do it.
When I spoke to Davis that day, he was ecstatic.
Davis smiled after humorously discussing the firing of David Carr (Derek's brother) and said: "There is no question. That is why this is not a rebuild. This is nothing but moving forward with a great foundation of some great players. Some really good fixtures who can be Raiders for a long time."
So after losing seven of the first nine games, including last Sunday to a man (Jeff Saturday) who had never coached in college or the NFL, with a play caller who had never called a play at any level, I shared with McDaniels the comments that Mark Davis made to me.
I asked him if it was a rebuild: "We are building. I have never used the word 'rebuilding,' or anything like that. It's the National Football League, there's not five years to do that."
McDaniels elaborated, saying: "I think there's a process that we're trying to go through. Certainly, slower and more painful than anybody wants it to be. We share the same sentiment, but it is what it is. When you go through change, there's some things that you're going to see initially, and there's some things that you're going to see over time."
Shortly after my question to McDaniels, Davis told my friend and colleague Paul Gutierrez from ESPN something that rang out as duplicitous at best and disingenuous at worst.
According to Gutierrez, Davis said: "People in today's world want instant gratification. The guy's coached nine games. We're 2-7, not the results we're looking for, but at the same time, we've lost six games where we've had the ball with a chance to win at the end."
That is fair, but Davis set the bar so high. The franchise that Davis owns sells a fan base with the mantra and merchandise of "Just Win Baby."
Davis did his coach and general manager no favors by what he said back in January, if what he feels was echoed in November. But that wasn't all.
Davis added: "Rome wasn't built in a day." Davis owes his fan base better than that.
Davis shouldn't be duplicitous. He can't raise the bar of a 10-win team that was the fifth seed in the AFC playoff picture by saying: "This is nothing but moving forward," and then chastise the fan base that wants to love him like they did his dad with the duplicitous and flippant: "Rome wasn't built in a day."
You are right, Mark, it wasn't. But I didn't think you were rebuilding.
Davis is now, whether he likes it or not. Were his comments unfair back in January? Had Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels told him the truth about what they saw?
If they had, he didn't help them. If they didn't know at the time, did they tell him since? If so, don't you save face by blaming your fans; you come out and say you were wrong.
If there is a communication issue between the owner and his leadership team, that is on them.
But to blame a fan base that has been malnourished of what your franchise claims to see as "Winning" is unfair.
Going from last year to this year isn't winning. Firing the only two coaches to take your team to the NFL playoffs isn't winning.
Don't blame your players, don't blame your leadership and sure don't blame your fans. This crisis sits on the desk of Mark Davis.
I like Josh McDaniels and I like Dave Ziegler. I like Mark Davis and none of this is personal. Except for the fans, and it is to them.
After years of being told that they deserve better, I am not talking about rebuilding or not rebuilding; they deserve their owner to speak with them and not down to them.
Mark Davis is a good guy, but his comments are duplicitous, and he isn't helping his team or fans.
And those fans are what matters most allegedly in Raider Nation.
The fans don't deserve to have another owner, Jim Irsay, tweeting: "Just Win Baby," after beating up a lackluster Silver and Black team in their house.
Irsay didn't take a shot at the fans; he took a shot at Mark Davis.
The Raiders return to action on Sunday when they head to Denver to take on the Broncos. That game kicks off at 4:05 p.m. EST/1:05 p.m. PST. You can see that game on FOX.
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