When the Las Vegas Raiders hired Josh McDaniels to be the team's next head coach, they should have seen a dumpster fire coming. After being chased out as the coach of the Broncos and flaking on the Colts, it seemed like failure was bound to happen, but the team went through with the hire anyway.
His career with the Raiders was tumultuous, as he mismanaged the Derek Carr situation and was fired mid-season after being blown out by the Lions on Monday Night Football. He left very few good players or assets in his wake, meaning the entire experiment was a complete disaster.
McDaniels came to the Raiders after being the offensive coordinator for the Patriots, and this offseason, he returned to that position in New England. Fortunately, the Silver and Black will have an early opportunity to pay him back for all the damage that he caused the franchise.
Raiders gifted golden opportunity to immediately destroy Josh McDaniels' dream
The NFL schedule will be officially released on Wednesday evening, but Fox Sports NFL Insider Jordan Schultz broke the news early. The Las Vegas Raiders will travel to New England in Week 1 to take on the Patriots at Gillette Stadium.
With McDaniels back in the fold for New England, this is a perfect opportunity for the new regime in Las Vegas to crush the team's former coach. These two franchises also have numerous connections, beginning with the ownership group and funneling down to the players.
This will be a major revenge game for both sides. Starting at the top, Raiders minority owners Tom Brady and Richard Seymour obviously spent significant portions of their playing careers with the Patriots.
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Raiders head coach Pete Carroll was also the head coach in New England from 1997 to 1999. McDaniels was the head coach for the Raiders during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
New England also signed several former Raiders this offseason, including Robert Spillane, K'Lavon Chaisson, and Marcus Epps. They also have two players that spent time in Las Vegas a few years ago in Mack Hollins and Austin Hooper.
The Patriots are a beatable team, and they are in a similar situation as the Raiders. Both teams have new head coaches and plenty of moving pieces to account for, so there are tons of question marks. Fortunately, this is a favorable matchup for the Silver and Black to begin the season with.