Losing is bad enough. But add dysfunction to the ineptitude, and you get what has plagued the Las Vegas Raiders for years.
Pete Carroll was supposed to be a pillar of stability and credibility when he came aboard as head coach, with a résumé to back up the expectation, but all his one-and-done season in Las Vegas showed is that he should've stayed retired.
One thing Raider Nation can thank Carroll for is finally losing enough to get a high draft pick, which brought in a potential franchise quarterback. Otherwise, all the way up to general manager John Spytek, it's good riddance as Klint Kubiak and his coaching staff replace Carroll and his.
It's also fair to say that Carroll's core principle, "comPete," was gone by the time last year's 3-14 campaign ended, if it was ever truly present. Players looked ready to be done, and for those who've been around a little while, they seemed ready to move on to yet another new head coach.
Malcolm Koonce is latest Las Vegas Raider to see refreshing difference a year makes
Defensive end Malcolm Koonce was one of three players, along with Maxx Crosby and safety Jeremy Chinn, to speak to the media after OTAs on Wednesday. Even at this early stage, he gave a clear glimpse of the difference between this year and a year ago.
Regarding how the defense is taking shape, with all the additions that were made, Koonce said the following:
"It feels kinda different in the building," Koonce said. "Like, everybody knows what the plan is, and everybody thinks the same. We got a whole bunch of players that the most important thing to them is winning and being the best team we can be."
That could be seen as a shot at former defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. But we know, with evidence to back it up, how Carroll had his fingerprints all over the Raiders' defense last season, and how much of a net negative that was for the unit.
So, if there was any confusion from players about the defensive plan on a week-to-week basis, it would be totally understandable. Koonce was asked a follow-up question regarding how different it is to simply have everyone on the same page this year, compared to last year.
"I think it's extremely different. I felt like last year, sometimes, a lot of people were in their head. And, I don't know, maybe, mentally, we lost our competitive edge sometimes. Definitely this year feels like a complete turnaround."
Without naming him, Koonce practically called out Carroll for creating, or at least enabling, a culture of confusion and, to an extent, as related tentacles, division and discourse. That's not what a coach of his stature is supposed to do, and the Raiders found out how ill-equipped he was the hard way.
But now it's a new day under Kubiak and a coaching staff that actually has resumes to back up why they are in their roles. And miraculously, they are all speaking the same language fluently already. Koonce is just the latest to highlight the difference a year makes in Las Vegas.
Add us as a preferred source on Google