Getty Former Raiders OC Bill Musgrave.
The Las Vegas Raiders haven’t done a lot of winning in the past two decades. Ever since going to the Super Bowl in 2002, the team has had just two playoff appearances. The best a Raiders team looked since 2002 was 2016.
Head coach Jack Del Rio appeared to be building something special and quarterback Derek Carr may have been the MVP if he hadn’t broken his leg with two games left in the season. The Raiders’ offense was seventh in points scored and sixth in yards per game. Offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave was running a top-notch offense. Despite that, the Raiders let him go after the season and replaced him with Todd Downing.
The team’s offense immediately took a step back and has yet to reach the heights of 2016 again. Many fans wonder what would’ve happened if the team hadn’t let go of Musgrave. The veteran coach spent the last few years in college at California but is making a return to the NFL ranks. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Cleveland Browns are bringing in Musgrave to be an offensive assistant.
Musgrave has a lot of experience and should bring value to the Browns’ coaching staff. He hasn’t been an offensive coordinator in the NFL since 2018 so this could be his first step toward returning to that position.
Why Was Musgrave Let Go From Raiders?
When the Raiders moved on from Musgrave, it wasn’t very clear why that decision was made. The offense was playing at its highest level in decades and Carr was showing dramatic improvement each year under the coach. The 32 and 28 touchdown pass seasons from Carr are still the two best of his career. To make matters worse, the team replaced him with Downing, who only lasted one season before getting fired. Del Rio was fired along with him.
Back in 2021, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur shed some light on why Musgrave may have been let go.
“And both will probably always wonder what would have happened if Del Rio had just brought back successful offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave in 2017. (Many in the organization later said Del Rio may have been upset about how much money Musgrave was making.)” Tafur wrote.
Musgrave was doing a good job so it makes sense that he would’ve been making a solid salary.
No Guarantee Raiders Were Better off With Musgrave
It’s easy to suggest that Musgrave was the reason that the 2016 Raiders team was a success. The franchise hasn’t reached the same heights since he left. However, Musgrave hasn’t exactly had much success since leaving either. He was fired from his last job as offensive coordinator at California. Perhaps the Raiders were just catching lightning in a bottle when he was there or maybe he was just a perfect fit with the players. It’ll be impossible to ever know.
Regardless, Del Rio likely regrets the decision. If Musgrave stayed and the team still flamed out, there wouldn’t always be speculation about what could’ve been. If he continued to lead a top-10 offense and the team was winning, Del Rio wouldn’t have gotten fired. There’s no doubt that Musgrave getting let go was a pivotal moment for the franchise.