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After an offseason filled with big roster moves, changes to the front office and an overhaul of the coaching staff, the Las Vegas Raiders are finally able to get to work. Josh McDaniels will have his work cut out for him as he hasn’t been a head coach in over a decade. He’ll mostly focus on the offense while defensive coordinator Patrick Graham will essentially be the head coach of the defense.
Over the years, McDaniels has become one of the most notable assistant coaches in the NFL due to his time with the New England Patriots. He was almost always seen sporting a visor at practice and during games. With most of the offseason festivities this far being more formal affairs, fans have yet to see the coach donning his trademark look. That finally changed as the Raiders revealed the first look of McDaniels sporting a team visor from voluntary offseason workouts.
There will be many more looks throughout the year of McDaniels wearing the visor but it finally feels like he’s officially the Raiders head coach now that he’s on the practice field.
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McDaniels Sounds off on Derek Carr Contract Extension
One of the biggest decisions of the McDaniels era has already been made as the team recently gave quarterback Derek Carr a three-year contract extension. Former head coach Jon Gruden never had to make the decision on Carr’s future as he signed before he was hired. The quarterback’s future was consistently in flux under Gruden but that won’t be the case with McDaniels.
He wanted to make it clear that the Raiders are set at quarterback and don’t want to pull any surprises.
“I don’t think there’s anything behind curtain number two here,” McDaniels told Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Whenever you go into a commitment like this, the plan is for it to work out well for both sides and for everybody to be happy and believe that it’s the right thing for your team. There’s no other intent on any of this other than to try to put the best team on the field for the Raiders, and Derek was obviously excited to try and do that as well.”
McDaniels Addresses Carr Taking a Team-Friendly Deal
For years, McDaniels watched Tom Brady take team-friendly deals with the Patriots. That was a big reason the team won six Super Bowls. Carr has made it clear that he never wants to play for a team other than the Raiders and wants to win a Super Bowl in Las Vegas. To ensure that happened, Carr decided to sign a team-friendly contract with the team. McDaniels praised the quarterback.
“I just think it’s important, when you’re trying to build a team, which is what we’re trying to do, that you’re aware of the fact that it’s going to take 53-plus men working together to try to achieve a common goal,” McDaniels said. “How you go about trying to do that, and the flexibility you gain in trying to do it is important, and Derek understands all that.”
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