Sources described McDaniels as far less involved than usual during that practice — akin to a bystander. He let the plays happen without correction, hoped players would self-correct and avoided stepping in to handle every mistake. It was unlike the way he had handled every previous practice during his tenure.
Players — and coaches — had ripped into him during the meeting. The point of the session was to be upfront and honest to try to fix what was wrong for the then-3-4 Raiders. Among the issues addressed: Overcorrecting, long meetings, the ways in which McDaniels attempted to hold players accountable and blaming players for issues with play-calling.
The meeting appeared to affect him in a negative way, sources say.
One source described McDaniels as a shell of himself.
Another source close to McDaniels described him during Thursday’s practice as someone trying to listen to the players, not over-coaching, playing some music and letting it play out. McDaniels was trying to do what they asked during the meeting. But the contrast in his behavior was so stark that one person present said he felt McDaniels wasn’t really there.
No one would blame McDaniels for taking to heart a blistering attack on his coaching from those he was asked to lead.
And while there were plays to be made during the 26-14 loss to the Lions — in particular, Jimmy Garoppolo twice missed a wide-open Davante Adams for potential long gains or touchdowns in the second half — the results that night stood for themselves, and it’s fair to conclude a disjointed week of practices contributed to the performance.
The Raiders announced that McDaniels and Ziegler were fired late Tuesday night. Offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi was also fired, and Garoppolo was benched on Wednesday for rookie Aidan O’Connell. Assistant coach Bo Hardegree is the new play-caller and OC under interim head coach Antonio Pierce.
So much has changed in Las Vegas as Pierce and interim GM Champ Kelly lead the Raiders into today’s game against the Giants. By all accounts, Pierce has been a leader and has given voice to the players. The early returns are positive, with the hope that he can affect the Raiders’ short-term as someone like Dan Campbell, another fiery leader, has affected the Detroit Lions’ long-term.
Meanwhile, several sources in and out of the building weighed in on the various ways the McDaniels-Ziegler regime ended after fewer than two seasons:
2023-11-05 09:18:00
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