It is the season for rumors, so why not dive into a rumor that the Las Vegas Raiders could be interested in Josh McDaniels as their next head coach.
The rumor mill keeps churning for the Las Vegas Raiders, as developments occur almost every few hours. It’s hardly a secret by now that the Raiders are having to fill their two most important roles, general manager and head coach. The most recent word on the street is that current New England Patriots offensive coordinator and former Denver Broncos head coach, Josh McDaniels, is a name that keeps making its way around.
A name that keeps getting floated for the Raiders head-coaching position is Patriots OC Josh McDaniels. Haven't heard much about him this cycle and would take some circumstances all coming together to pry him loose, but keep an eye on Vegas.
— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) January 20, 2022
Raiders fans are very familiar with McDaniels. As Broncos head coach, he led them to an underwhelming 11-17 record. He was fired in 2010 after Week 13 of his second season. That was following a promising 8-8 campaign the year prior. He returned home, so to speak, in 2012 to the Patriots and Bill Belichick, where he’s been the offensive coordinator ever since.
For the Raiders, is this something or nothing?
As with any rumors during this time in the NFL calendar, we have taken things with a grain of salt. The popular notion right now is that Jim Harbaugh will be the next Raiders head coach, though nothing concrete has come up. In fact, an insider with direct knowledge of the situation has stated unequivocally that nothing has changed in the Harbaugh matter.
As far as McDaniels, Raider Nation is already having a laugh as they see no scenario where the young coach takes over in Sin City.
There are some coincidences with the McDaniels development, though. In fact, McDaniels is connected with Trey Brown and Dave Ziegler, who are both candidates for the general manager post with the Raiders. Something or nothing?
Regardless of how fans feel about McDaniels, his offenses have been solid in New England. This year, with a rookie quarterback, the Patriots passing offense was 14th in yardage and 15th in terms of touchdowns. His rushing offenses in terms of scoring touchdowns have been in the top 10 since 2016.
5 Important Raiders who most likely will not be back in Las Vegas in 2022
The Las Vegas Raiders have plenty of players hitting free agency this offseason, and these five are likely done in the Silver and Black.
There’s no doubt the Raiders’ offense could see some improvement with McDaniels at the helm. Perhaps in a scenario where Gus Bradley is retained as defensive coordinator, Las Vegas could return to the playoffs.