Getty Las Vegas Raiders WR Hunter Renfrow.
It’s a new day for the Las Vegas Raiders with head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler being fired. Though it remains to be seen if the team will improve under interim head coach Antonio Pierce, early signs suggest that the players are at least happier.
Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the coaching change will be wide receiver Hunter Renfrow, who is averaging only 2 targets per game in 2023. He made comments on November 2 that appeared to throw shade at McDaniels.
There is “a different energy” with Pierce, Renfrow told reporters in the locker room. Renfrow suggested a looser environment and “not just walking on eggshells everywhere” with McDaniels running the show.
Renfrow made multiple references to Pierce’s experience as both an NFL player and a coach that makes him relatable to the current roster.
“I think AP alluded to it. … It’s fun when you have nothing to lose,” he said. “Let’s go out there and have a great time and play hard and play fast.”
Renfrow went from having 1,038 receiving yards and making a Pro Bowl in 2021 to having 46 catches for 422 yards in 18 games under McDaniels. He was the subject of trade rumors before the October 31 deadline, but the Raiders did not deal him.
Jermaine Eluemunor Offers His Thoughts
Even some of the players McDaniels brought in from his days with the New England Patriots couldn’t deny that things were going south in Las Vegas.
“It wasn’t a good vibe,” said Jermaine Eluemunor, according to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur. “A lot of us were trying to create energy on the sideline, and I’m sure fans could see it.”
Eluemenor, who spent two seasons under McDaniels in New England, said he noticed the difference in demeanor between Detroit Lions players and Raiders players in the teams’ Week 8 matchup.
“Dan Campbell brings that type of energy that everyone can get around,” he said. “The biggest thing about being a good head coach is the type of energy they have and how they lead men. I get the same vibe from [Pierce]. He is from an era when you work for everything you get, you put your hand in the dirt and beat guys up and take their will. And that’s what he wants this team to be about.”
Davante Adams showing some great basketball skills in the locker room today.
🎥: By @Sean_Zittel, Vegas Sports Today
Las Vegas Raiders Have Better Energy
Whether or not McDaniels truly lost the locker room is a moot point. He was never going to be a motivator, but not every great head coach is. However, the Raiders have been a team that has clearly had bad energy all season.
Tight end Austin Hooper said he was already noticing a big difference in the locker room.
“The energy is good and I appreciate AP’s straight-forward type of leadership,” Hooper said, according to Tafur’s story. “All we can do now is be professionals and follow him and take advantage of the opportunity. This is a different business than most. Everything happens, and you feel for Josh and Dave and their families, but we don’t have time to sit back and think about what went wrong and what could have been. This is a week-to-week business and we have the Giants on Sunday.”