Gordon: Raiders ready for retooling amid repeated failings

It’s the right messaging. Er, the expected messaging. Especially at this juncture of the season.

Amid a 2-7 record that includes three blown three-score leads, the franchise’s first shutout loss since 2014 and, most recently, a home loss to a team that tabbed a broadcaster last week to become its head coach.

“We knew when we came here that this is a longer-term view of ‘how do we get this thing to repeat?’ ” Raiders coach Josh McDaniels said. “That hasn’t happened here in a little while, and again, the immediate results that we’ve gotten so far, they aren’t what everybody is hoping for or wanting, but we’re also trying to keep an eye on a lot of things that would go into ‘how do you sustain it once you get it?’”

Before focusing on the long term, McDaniels and the Raiders must figure out how to succeed in the short term. Short-term success would seem to be a prerequisite for long-term success. Regardless of how McDaniels and company attempt to spin their failings of the season, a 2-7 start was not the plan or expectation.

The expectation for McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler, according to owner Mark Davis in January during their introductory news conference, was to take the franchise “to the next level … getting to that Super Bowl and winning some championships.”

And yet barely halfway through McDaniels’ first season, Davis felt compelled to publicly support his embattled coach, who has lost 24 of his past 31 games.

“I think he’s doing a fantastic job,” Davis told the Review-Journal. “You have to look at where we came from and where we’re going.”

No tangible progress

Such a statement contradicts Davis’ assessment in January, when he said “there’s a great culture in this organization right now. … a fantastic culture in this building” after a 10-7 record in 2021 and playoff berth under interim coach Rich Bisaccia.

The frenetic finish might have masked some of the organizational shortcomings, but the hope was to win long term — and this season.

The trade of first- and second-round picks for star receiver Davante Adams says as much. As does the lucrative four-year contract furnished for (former) pass-rush specialist Chandler Jones.

Yet the Raiders rank 16th in total offense compared with eighth last season without Adams, who remains as dominant as any other receiver in the NFL. And their defense ranked 14th in yards allowed last season compared with 28th this season — with six new starters acquired by the new regime.

“We can all be better in certain instances,” Adams said. “But some of the greatest coaches this league has seen has had some tough times, and I’m sure they didn’t all come out the blocks sprinting like Usain Bolt starting their career off or starting with a new organization.”

Patience, patience, patience

Ironically, McDaniels did come out of the blocks like Bolt in Denver, winning his first six games but not many since.

First-year coaches Kevin O’Connell (Vikings), Brian Daboll (Giants) and Mike McDaniel (Dolphins) continue to inspire turnarounds with their teams.

They, too, surely covet long-term success. Their short-term success would suggest sustainability is feasible.

“There’s a lot of things that go into that, scouting, personnel acquisition, draft process, free agency, player development, player acquisition, just all of that stuff really goes into staff building, team building,” McDaniels said. “I’m not patient in terms of trying to win and lose. We want to win every time we step on the field; that’s what we’re trying to do.

“But I do have some understanding of the type of patience we may need in order to ultimately get to where we’re trying to go.”

At 2-7, sounds about right.

Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.