Getty Mark Davis with Josh McDaniels.
Regardless of what the Las Vegas Raiders think of Jarrett Stidham, the team is going to look deeply at their quarterback options this offseason. Keeping Stidham, drafting a rookie and having the two compete for the starting job could be appealing but that might not be what ownership wants. Mark Davis was hands-off with Jon Gruden but he’s been more involved with head coach Josh McDaniels.
Davis was in support of the move to bench Derek Carr and may have even been the one to make the final call. With the Raiders in Las Vegas, the team has gotten a lot more attention in recent years. However, opposing fans frequently come to Allegiant Stadium in large numbers. The only way to combat that is to field a winner, which the Raiders have only done once in the three years they’ve been in Las Vegas.
While McDaniels may not want to take a huge swing at quarterback this offseason, Davis is looking to add the biggest name in the sport. According to Jason Cole of Outkick, the owner is pushing to sign Tom Brady.
“Mark is embarrassed,” a former Raiders executive told Cole. “He was pissed last year when the Chiefs and Bears brought so many fans to town. Now it’s happening every week. He wants it to stop. He wanted Brady before when Jon Gruden finally turned it down and now, he wants Brady again. Mark thinks having McDaniels is going to be the key.
“But I’m hearing McDaniels is not so sure.”
Does McDaniels Want Brady?
The partnership between Brady and McDaniels when they were both in New England is one of the greatest in NFL history. The duo won multiple Super Bowls together and formed a close friendship. It almost makes too much sense for the two to reunite in Las Vegas. That said, it might not be that simple. It’s possible that McDaniels thinks he’d be better off bringing a quarterback he can develop.
“Josh believes he can train a quarterback,” a former Patriots staff member told Cole. “Look at what they did last game with (Jarret) Stidham. Puts up 30 points against San Francisco and takes them to the mat with a guy he coached for years.
“That’s why Josh took (Tim) Tebow when he was in Denver. He thought he could fix Tebow and turn him into something great. Then he really found out, but Josh still believes in Josh and that if he gets the right guy, it’s going to work. If he goes out there and just gets Tom – and I don’t know that Tom would really do that, but just say it happens – what has Josh really proved? And what happens when Tom finally does quit?”
#Raiders Mark Davis and Marcel Reece spoke with Tom Brady at the UFC 246 event at T-Mobile Arena on January 18, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Davis Is Going to Get What He Wants
Davis can’t be happy with how this season has gone. He had a playoff team last year and just watched his Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA win a championship. While he’s not going to fire McDaniels, he couldn’t have expected the team to be 6-10 heading into Week 18 this season.
The coach hasn’t built up a lot of good will with ownership yet. He’s not going to be able to call whatever shots he wants. If Brady wants to be in Las Vegas and Davis wants him in Las Vegas, it’s likely that McDaniels would get overruled in the event that he doesn’t want the quarterback. Davis does not have the same affinity for McDaniels that he did for Jon Gruden.