Las Vegas Raiders cleaning house only good if Mark Davis finally gets it right
By Brad Weiss
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On Halloween night, fans of the Las Vegas Raiders got what they have been hoping for all season long, as Mark Davis relieved Josh McDaniels of his head coaching duties. The 25-game run for McDaniels as the team's head coach has brought nothing but embarrassment, and it has also turned a 2021 playoff team into a laughingstock in the NFL.
Now, the team will once again look to hit the reset button, and fans are excited about what is to come. The problem with that is, the Raiders seem to hit the reset button every few years, and it has brought only two playoff appearances across the last 20 seasons.
Team owner Mark Davis now will be tasked with not only finding a new head coach, but also a new general manager, as Champ Kelly takes over for the fired Dave Ziegler. Kelly actually interviewed for Ziegler's job before Davis named Ziegler the team's GM, and should definitely be in consideration for the full-time role if he is granted an interview next offseason.
Raiders cannot afford to miss again at HC and GM
While McDaniels has been atrocious as head coach, Ziegler did bring some great players to the Raiders organization, including wide receiver Davante Adams. He was able to find Dylan Parham and Thayer Munford Jr. in the 2022 NFL Draft, and this past April, added quality players like Tre Tucker, Aidan O'Connell, and Michael Mayer to name a few.
The problem for Ziegler was that he and McDaniels were kind of a packaged deal, so Davis decided to clean house and get rid of both of them.
Las Vegas has been through plenty of head coaches since Mark Davis took over the team 13 years ago, but none has been able to have long-term success. Finding the next head coach is going to be a long process, as there are up-and-coming coordinators in the NFL, and solid head coaches in the NCAA that he needs to consider.
Now, the focus should be on Antonio Pierce, who is a former player that the current roster should play hard for. Pierce has an extremely bright future as an NFL coach, and if he can get this thing pointed in the right direction, like Kelly for GM, he should get a long look to keep his job in 2024.
The only hope for the Raiders fan base is that Davis consults with some football people to make the right decisions next offseason. Bringing in new faces every few years is not the way to go, and hopefully, the next GM and HC can be in Las Vegas for a long time.
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