- McDaniels was fired Monday after a 3-5 start and a 26-14 loss to Detroit
- Players and coaches expressed concern about McDaniels’ controlling tendencies
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The firing of former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels reportedly came just days after a brutal encounter with his players.
According to the NFL NetworkMcDaniels had an intensive meeting with players and coaches on October 26, five days before he was fired. The report states that McDaniels was “a bystander of sorts” after being begged to change his behavior.
The report said concerns included long meetings, overcorrecting mistakes and blaming players for play-calling problems.
After the meeting, McDaniels was a “shell of himself” as the comments led him to let players self-correct while being hands-off in dealing with mistakes.
On October 31, Raiders owner Mark Davis let go of McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.
Former coach Josh McDaniels was fired by the Raiders after leading the team to a 3-5 start
Raiders owner Mark Davis (center) fired McDaniels (R) and general manager Dave Ziegler (L)
Champ Kelly (L) and Antonio Pierce (R) were named interim GM and head coach
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that the midseason reset had a price tag of $85 million, but Davis had no problem spending the money for the sake of the team.
“Unfortunately, I had high expectations for Josh and Dave,” Davis told ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez. ‘It looked like we were going in the wrong direction. So with the trade deadline I felt it was time to make a change, time to make a move.”
Despite being 3-5 after losing to the Detroit Lions on Monday, the Raiders were in good spirits in practice without McDaniels’ presence.
The Athletic reported that the Raiders seemed looser: They played basketball and wrestled in practice.
“It’s more of a mentality that we’re trying to … not force, but just have to move forward and be as positive as we can,” wide receiver Davante Adams said. “There is now a definitive shift where we can say things are different and we have the opportunity to change that.”
The Raiders, who are ranked third in the AFC West, face the New York Giants on Sunday afternoon in their first game under interim head coach Antonio Pierce and under interim GM Champ Kelly.