What they’re saying about Raiders firing coach Josh McDaniels

What the NFL media and observers are saying about the Raiders’ firing of coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler:

Tim Brown, former Raiders receiver (@81TimBrown)

A lot of things I don’t say because I know my words carry weight. And the players can’t say it because they are in the fire. But I felt like this was a repeat 94 season. When internally we knew we had a problem but you couldn’t say it publicly. And We all remember the … Monday Night debacle in 03 vs GB. I told Al Davis after the game, you have to make a change for the soul of your organization! Mid-season changes are not easy, so kudos to Mark for making this move.

Ian Rapoport, NFL.com (@RapSheet)

#Raiders owner Mark Davis made sweeping changes last night, thanks in part to information gathered from meetings with select veterans over the past week to learn more about the culture under Josh McDaniels.

Ari Meirov, @MySportsUpdate

Josh McDaniels lasted longer as #Broncos HC (694 days) than he did as #Raiders HC (639 days).

Frank Schwab, Yahoo Sports (@YahooSchwab)

Once (McDaniels) did the Colts like that, with the Broncos fiasco on his resume, I figured he would never get another HC look. It says A LOT about NFL owners that he became a hot name again. Inexcusable hire by Mark Davis and he deserves all the fallout from it.

SportsOddsHistory.com (@SOHistory)

Josh McDaniels was the preseason favorite at +500 to be the first coach to departure (odds via @unibet).

Albert Breer, TheMMQB (@AlbertBreer)

Raiders owner Mark Davis’ recent postgame meetings with Josh McDaniels were seen by staff as a sign of trouble. One particularly aggressive one happened after the win over the Packers—Davis wasn’t happy and let the HC know it. Guys felt like they were on notice after it.

Ben Volin, Boston Globe (@BenVolin)

Mark Davis hired McDaniels and Ziegler when the entire locker room wanted to keep Rich Bisaccia. Davis let them tear down the roster and get rid of the QB, then fired them after 25 games when they didn’t get immediate results. It always starts at the top.

Kyle Long, CBS Sports Network (@Ky1eLong)

Good news for Las Vegas fans is that Champ Kelly is in the building for you.

Monte Poole, NBCSportsBayArea.com (@MontePooleNBCS)

It’s never too soon to fire the head coach and the GM once it becomes abundantly clear they have no clue about team-building or effective leadership principles #Raiders

Matthew Berry, NBC Sports (@MatthewBerryTMR)

Honestly Raiders never should have fired Rich Bisaccia & Greg Olson. In 2021 they managed to keep the team together though both Jon Gruden AND Henry Ruggs, got team to playoffs, and that should have beaten CINCY in playoffs but got jobbed by the refs.

Dov Kleiman, Brobible (@NFL_DovKleiman)

Important note, Josh McDaniels wasn’t even a good OC with the #Rams in 2011. Tom Brady made his career. Teams shouldn’t give the Bill Belichick coaching tree more chances.

Warren Sharp, @SharpFootball

the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels. the Raiders, Broncos & Rams…these offenses were better prior to hiring him. when he left twice, the Patriots were better without him. late-career Brady was better without him. Carr was better without him.

Josh Dubow, Associated Press (@JoshDubowAP)

Of the 13 #Raiders coaches with 25+ games, Josh McDaniels’ .360 win percentage ranks 11th, ahead of only Norv Turner (9-23, .281) and Dennis Allen (8-28, .222).

Booger McFarland, ESPN (@ESPNBooger)

Don’t ever bring up Josh McDaniels name again as a head coach.

Robert Griffin III, ESPN (@RGIII)

Being a Head Coach is about more than being able to call plays and be a brilliant mind. You have to be able to lead men. Players feel it when they are in that locker room. You don’t have to be able to motivate them because they are all self motivated to be their best. But you do have to be able to earn their trust with what you say and what you do. You have to be able to move them with your words and make them feel something real when you address the team. They have to know the mission and buy into your vision for the team. More former players should get the opportunities to be Head Coaches faster because they understand this dynamic and thrive in it. Looking forward to seeing what Antonio Pierce can do in the Interim Head Coach role.

Joe Pompliano, @JoePompliano

NFL coaching contracts are fully guaranteed. So with the Raiders firing Josh McDaniels last night (and Jon Gruden resigning in ‘21), they are now paying somewhere between $40M & $80M for them not to coach the team, depending on Gruden’s settlement. That’s poor money management.

Lindsay Jones, The Ringer (@bylindsayhjones)

There were *a lot* of people who spent *a lot* of time and words pretending the Josh McDaniels era in Denver didn’t happen / wasn’t that bad. It did happen, it was that bad, and history repeated itself. Cool stuff.

Bill Barnwell, ESPN.com (@billbarnwell)

Josh McDaniels didn’t self-scout, got almost every big decision he made wrong, created his own personnel problems, and cemented his legacy as one of the worst head coaching hires of the last two decades. Now, the Raiders start over again.

Mike Freeman, USA Today (@mikefreemanNFL)

Moral of the Josh McDaniels story: no Belichick disciples, or even Belichick, win without Brady.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.