Raiders former HC Josh McDaniels tried to kill it, but the fun is back in Las Vegas

Raiders get breath of fresh air with Antonio Pierce

We have seen in recent history that the old "football is war" approach is beginning to die out, and the best NFL teams are led by head coaches that know how to keep things focused and loose at the same time. Andy Reid is the most successful coach of this recent era, and he is known just as much for his lovable personality as he is for his offensive genius.

Other successful coaches like Kyle Shanahan in San Francisco, Nick Sirianni in Philadelphia, Sean McVay in Los Angeles, and a few others are able to relate to their players in a human way, and keep things fun yet focused in all aspects of the organization. Even a former Patriot player in Mike Vrabel has succeeded by connecting with his players and allowing them to be themselves.

Josh McDaniels would have done well to try and emulate these guys over pretending to be Bill Belichick junior. In Antonio Pierce the Raiders have a head coach that knows the ins and outs of an NFL locker room, and has brought the fun element back to Las Vegas. We have no idea if this will translate to on the field success for the Raiders but we have enough evidence that the militaristic and rigid approach was a massive failure for this team.

The Raiders have always been known as a swashbuckling franchise that played football with a fast and aggressive style. Pierce is well aware of that and he will do everything in his power to bring the Raiders back to their roots. He now has the rest of the season to audition for the job and a great case study from Josh McDaniels in exactly what not to do. For Raider Nation, we don’t know what the future holds but we know that a loose and relaxed team should lead to more success on the field and more fun in the stands.