Based on how the Las Vegas Raiders season has gone, it seemed like a loss to the Indianapolis Colts would spell doom for head coach Josh McDaniels. After the game, quarterback Derek Carr was holding back tears in his press conference and it’s clear that some players are frustrated. Calls from fans have grown loud for the team to fire the coach.
Among the people who believe McDaniels needs to go is former NFL player Emmanuel Acho. He pleaded with the Raiders to move on from the coach on FS1’s “Speak.”
Despite the uproar, Raiders owner Mark Davis came out this week and made it clear he doesn’t plan to fire McDaniels. The Athletic’s Jeff Howe also reported that the coach has been assured that he’s safe for this year. Things haven’t gone according to plan for Las Vegas but firing McDaniels won’t fix all of their issues. Davis wants to give him another year to make things work but his leash might be much shorter next season.
Carr Happy Davis Endorsed McDaniels
Carr let his frustration out after the loss to the Colts but it wasn’t aimed at McDaniels. He’s been a big fan of the coach and isn’t eager to see him go. He expressed happiness that Davis came out and offered support to the coach.
“It really did,” Carr said Wednesday. “Just being here for nine years and everything that we’ve all seen and been through, and some tragedies, and all this stuff, right? I’m so happy to hear that Mr. Davis feels that way. I’m so happy that he loves Josh, he loves [first-year general manager Dave Ziegler], he believes in them.”
Carr Has Bought Into McDaniels
There have been questions regarding if players have fully bought into the culture McDaniels is trying to build. Those questions got louder when Carr and Davante Adams seemingly called out teammates for not buying in following the Colts loss. However, Carr says that he’s bought in and so are the players.
“[W]e love Josh,” Carr said. “Like, me and Tae [Davante Adams], we have meetings with him all the time, and we had another great one today and fully believe in the plan. Because he shows us — my point is: what being mad at the coaches is that going to do? Is that really what we want to do for another 20 years? You know what I mean? Like, keep doing a cycle like that? They know what they’re doing, they’ve had success.
“As players, we’re fully bought in because we’re like: ‘Man, we believe in it, and we just all want to be a part of it. … My feeling [is]: We love Josh. We love everything that he brings, everything the staff has brought, and really, we just are focused on playing better. Every man in there, we all took turns in the game — you watch the film — they’re like: ‘Oh, I could’ve done that.’ It’s probably stuff that people don’t even notice, but you’re like: ‘Man, if I do that more consistently, it’ll lead to some wins for the team.’ And everyone took that mindset. And so, the proof is when he shows it to us and you’re like: ‘Coach, you’re right. We’ve got to do that better.'”
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Ex-Player Pleads for Josh McDaniels to Get Fired: ‘Raiders Fans Deserve Better’