New Las Vegas Raiders duo begin laying down their vision
The Raiders are getting a mature and refined McDaniels.
The instant reaction and criticism to the Raiders’ decision to go with McDaniels was quick and harsh. Most fans chose to go with emotion over logic, pointing to McDaniels’ time as Denver Broncos head coach.
Also, let’s not mince words here; most Raiders fans didn’t like this choice because of the new coach’s history. He’s been Belichick’s right-hand man for years, and clearly, that doesn’t sit well with Raider Nation.
"“I knew a little bit of football…I didn’t know people.” -Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels"
However, watching the presser and digesting what McDaniels said, it’s possible that the man who coached the Broncos more than a decade ago isn’t the one that Mark Davis hired. In fact, the new head coach openly admitted that he wasn’t too keen on building personal relationships, which, as we all know, is key in coaching a team.
His youth and arrogance were quite evident back then, but that was a long time ago. After returning to the Patriots, McDaniels became one of the most respected and revered offensive coordinators in recent NFL history. Nevertheless, running an offense and being in charge of the entire locker is a completely different thing.
Regardless, McDaniels appears to be ready now. More importantly, he also believes he can work with Carr and can win right now. In other words, despite Ziegler’s response, this team is more likely to reload than to rebuild. More importantly, and this should give Raider Nation some solace, the new head coach recognizes that the Raiders need to be “adaptable.” That’s something they didn’t do much of under Gruden.
A Raiders team capable of game planning every week and attacking the opponent’s weaknesses while making in-game adjustments sounds like 21st-century football, not 1998, as Gruden eloquently put it once. No, these are the new Raiders. These are McDaniels’ Raiders.