Josh McDaniels was heartbroken after Raiders players asked him to change
The Josh McDaniels who arrived at Las Vegas Raiders practice on Oct. 26 was not the same coach who had been there a day earlier.
McDaniels was “like a spectator” that day according to a report from NFL Networkhis change in behavior stemmed from an “intense” meeting he held hours earlier in which players and coaches attacked the then-head coach and asked him to change his behavior.
Five days later, he was out of work as Raiders owner Mark Davis cleaned out the home of his head coach and general manager Dave Ziegler.
The problems that arose, according to the report, included his long team meetings, overcorrecting every mistake and the way he blamed players for game cancellation problems.
The comments clearly had an impact on McDaniels and he made no corrections to the plays in the next practice, instead wanting the players to correct themselves and taking a step back from addressing every error, NFL Network reported.
He was even described as “a shell of his former self,” while others reportedly sensed the end was near.
As the Raiders continued to lose (3-5), Davis began meeting with players like Josh Jacobs, Davante Adams and other team executives.
The report said a number of the topics raised during the tense meeting with McDaniels were discussed during those conversations with Davis.
Davis fired McDaniels and Ziegler on Halloween night, a day after the Raiders’ listless loss to the Detroit Lions on “Monday Night Football.”
The Athletic reported that the Raiders may have found themselves in the “happiest locker room ever” following the layoffs.
Antonio Pierce was named interim coach and Champ Kelly was given the interim GM position.
“Unfortunately I had high hopes for Josh and Dave” Davis told ESPN on Wednesday. “It just seemed like we were going in the wrong direction. With the trade deadline coming up, I just felt like it was time to make a change, to make a move.”
The decision to change direction seemed to revitalize the locker room, but it was costly for Davis.
The move will cost Davis about $85 million. according to ESPN.
Pierce, the former Giants, substituted quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for rookie Aidan O’Connell before Sunday’s game against the Giants in Vegas.