Insider Reveals Who Is to Blame for Mark Davis Hiring Josh McDaniels

Getty Josh McDaniels with Mark Davis.

When Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis hired Josh McDaniels as head coach in 2022, the hope was that he’d be coaching the team for a long time. However, he couldn’t even make it through to full seasons before getting fired.

There were plenty of warning signs about hiring him considering his failed stint as the Denver Broncos head coach but there were stories aplenty about how he’d grown and was ready to be a head coach again. In a November 25 mailbag, The Athletic’s Vic Tafur was asked if McDaniels was only hired to attract legendary quarterback Tom Brady to the team but the insider believes there’s another entity that is more to blame.

“It was part of it, but I blame the national media for telling Davis that McDaniels was in demand around the league and was just waiting for the right third chance,” Tafur wrote.

Prior to joining the Raiders, McDaniels was widely considered a top head coaching job and even accepted a job with the Indianapolis Colts before changing his mind. The belief was that the coach was ready to take the NFL by storm after learning from his head coaching job. That clearly wasn’t the case as many of the same issues that plagued him in Denver also plagued him in Las Vegas.

Mark Davis Likely Doesn’t Know Who Next HC Will Be

Since taking over ownership of the Raiders in 2011, Mark Davis has hired four full-time head coaches and none of them have panned out. He needs to nail his next head coaching hire.

Interim head coach Antonio Pierce is off to a strong 2-1 start and certainly has a chance of earning the full-time job. However, there are still six games left in the season so he has to prove he can sustain success. For now, Davis has not made up his mind on his next head coach, per Vic Tafur.

“As I said back when Ziegler and McDaniels were talking up their three-year (four?) plan, owner Mark Davis is a wild card,” Tafur wrote in the mailbag. “He thought he could have some patience, but he gets a little emotional. He wants to win, and that’s not a bad thing. He is not going to be able to tell you what he will do three months from now.”

Pierce’s lack of NFL coaching experience could work against him so it’s important he has a winning record the rest of the season or his chances of keeping the job get a lot lower.

Antonio Pierce Hoping to Get Homefield Advantage

Since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas, they’ve had a hard time getting much of a homefield advantage. With a pivotal home game against the Kansas City Chiefs on the docket in Week 12, Antonio Pierce implored Raiders fans to show up to Allegiant Stadium.

“Having a homefield advantage for us is huge,” Pierce told reporters during his November 21 media availability. “What we’ve gotten the last two home games against the Giants and Jets, that has also energized our team. So, I’m calling on Raider Nation, our fanbase, our alumni to show up and show out. Bring that energy, bring that passion. Watch these guys play hard, give their effort, execute at a high level and play with the intention to win every game at home. Allegiant Stadium has to be ours. That Black Hole has to be real.”