Las Vegas Raiders are in their best position to succeed in years
New GM and HC
The pair hired by Davis, both came over from New England, and although the failures of McDaniels only stint as a head coach in Denver has been much discussed recently, he did bounce back strongly over the last ten years. His success as offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots has yielded several successful seasons and three Super Bowl rings.
Now I understand completely that he did this with quarterback Tom Brady at the helm for the bulk of this time, but he did have success with rookie quarterback Mac Jones this season, showing that he can develop and get the most out of talent on the offensive end. It is truly hard to call the success in this hire, but he will be an upgrade over the controversial Jon Gruden and Bisaccia.
Dave Ziegler is possibly an even bigger mystery than the head coach here. He has never been a general manager, and his bread and butter in New England were scouting pro-level talent and being instrumental in the franchise trading for and signing players that virtually were given up on.
When discussing his scouting ability, this is where he truly stands out and upstages former Raider general manager Mike Mayock. His keen eye for talent led the Patriots to add players on cheaper contracts who performed superbly, despite their lackluster track records. This perceptive ability is what ultimately led to his hire, and Davis is hopeful he can improve the Raiders with key free agents and a strong draft class this offseason.
The pair are not the only highlights for this team going into next season, but the team as a whole provides a lot to be excited for. Surely new faces will be brought in to improve a team that reached the postseason for only the second time since 2002, but what is on this roster currently is a mix of young and talented players.