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When Jon Gruden resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Derek Carr was disappointed as he believed that he was finally in sync with the coach. He then pushed the team to hire interim head coach Rich Bisaccia for the permanent job. The team didn’t listen and instead went with Josh McDaniels, which was a controversial choice considering his previous failure as head coach of the Denver Broncos.
McDaniels and Carr haven’t played in a game together but the quarterback is clearly happy with how things playing out. He even recently told Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston that the coach is a “genius.” While the comment was mostly looked at as praise for McDaniels, Mike Florio of Pro Football talked referred to them as a “backhanded slap” at Gruden.
Carr isn’t exactly the type to throw shade at people who haven’t come after him. Former All-Pro center for the New York Jets Nick Mangold wasn’t buying that there was any ill intent behind the quarterback’s words.
It’s certainly a stretch to suggest that Carr praising his new coach is an indirect attack against his former coach who he was close with.
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Raiders Have Move Passed Gruden Era
Regardless of what Carr really thinks of Gruden as a head coach, the Raiders have clearly moved on. Gruden’s resignation threw a serious wrench in the team’s plans as he was on a 10-year contract and had a lot of security. Instead of falling apart during the season, the Raiders rallied around Bisaccia and made the playoffs – something Gruden couldn’t do in his first three years.
With McDaniels in charge, expectations for the team are higher than they’ve been in a long time. The team has been able to attract star players in Chandler Jones and Davante Adams while giving extensions to Carr, Maxx Crosby and Hunter Renfrow. This is the most stacked Raiders roster since the early-2000s. It’s been very easy for the team to forget about Gruden with so many good things happening. If the Raiders win a lot of games in 2022, nobody will be thinking about the coach going forward.
Can Raiders Live up to the Hype?
In 2016, the Raiders surprised many when they went 12-4 and made the playoffs. Heading into 2017, expectations were very high for the team as they added star running back Marshawn Lynch. Instead of being Super Bowl contenders, the team fell apart and went 6-10. It’s hard not to see the similarities between the 2017 Raiders and 2022 Raiders on the surface.
However, these are very different teams. Carr is much older now and was part of the 2017 disaster. He’s not going to make the same mistakes. The team is also littered with hard-working leaders like Jones and Crosby. They won’t let the team buy into their own hype. Also, The AFC West is so stacked with talent that the Raiders can’t be too confident heading into the season. It’s hard to fathom they’ll flop as they did in 2017.
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