It's not like the Las Vegas Raiders have just been bad over the years. They have altered the NFL landscape with their poor decision-making, as they constantly bail other teams out by acquiring their bad players or giving up their own good pieces.
The Seattle Seahawks trading Geno Smith paved the way for Sam Darnold to take a cheaper contract with the team, which spurred a Super Bowl run. Essentially, Seattle got rid of Smith and Pete Carroll and instantly got better. The Raiders couldn't see that bringing those two in would make them worse.
Impatience and being unwilling to pony up for other players also helped jolt the New England Patriots' run to the Super Bowl. K'Lavon Chaisson and Robert Spillane, both of whom were in Las Vegas last season, are mainstays on an elite Patriots defense. But they're just the tip of the iceberg.
Josh McDaniels and several former Raiders are headed to the Super Bowl
Josh McDaniels, who spent an inglorious season and a half with the Silver and Black, landed back in New England for his third stint as the offensive coordinator for the Patriots after taking 2024 off. Now, he has Drake Maye, a second-year pro, on the verge of being an MVP and a Super Bowl champion.
Obviously, McDaniels was a disaster with the Raiders. He lost the locker room, moved on from Derek Carr with no real backup plan, and finished with a 9-16 record. Antonio Pierce immediately came in and galvanized the team, leading them to a 5-4 finish to the 2023 NFL season.
But it's not like Las Vegas was super patient with McDaniels, either. Yes, he was a former head coach who should have been better, and he was not really a "youngster" in the coaching world anymore at 47 years old. But it's not like McDaniels was given a long leash to implement his vision.
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Just one year back in New England has proven that he can call a Super Bowl-worthy offense, with or without Tom Brady. At some point, people will appreciate McDaniels' role in the Patriots' dynasty, as he was around for each of their six previous titles, and may be around for a seventh.
Raider Nation is no fan of the Patriots anyway, but watching McDaniels hoist the Lombardi Trophy after his most recent NFL act was getting fired in Las Vegas would be too much to bear. Instead, the fanbase will likely be cheering for the Seahawks and hopeful future coach Klint Kubiak.
While fans have no ill-will toward Spillane, Chaisson, and other former Raiders like Mack Hollins, Thayer Munford Jr., and Austin Hooper, all of whom are on the Patriots' Super Bowl roster, watching McDaniels make it back to the NFL mountaintop would be a nightmare.