Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis explains decision to fire Josh McDaniels & Dave Ziegler. What did he say?

As you probably noticed, the Las Vegas Raiders closed the NFL trade deadline on Tuesday in a rather stunning way. Of course, that was not due to news about who was joining the franchise, but rather who was leaving it. Indeed, the Raiders made no trades but rather fired coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler just before the window shut.

Raiders’ Mark Davis explains his decisions

While the Raiders owner remained somewhat quiet in the immediate hours following Tuesday night’s announcement that both head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler had been relieved of their duties, he was in a significantly more communicative mood on Wednesday night when he spoke with the media. While there were several takeaways from Davis’ comments which we will get into, the general consensus offered from the man who also owns the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces, was that the Raiders were going in the “wrong direction.” With that in mind, let’s take a look at the specifics of what Davis had to say.

Mark Davis On firing Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler

Concise and to the point, Davis explained that - as mentioned above - he was not happy with the path that the team was on. “It just seemed we were going in the wrong direction,” Davis said. “So, with the trade deadline, I just felt it was time to make a change, time to make a move.”

The Raiders’ offense is a problem for Mark Davis

Now ranked 29th in the league, the Raiders offense has definitely seen better days, a notion compounded by their most recent outing, a loss to the Detroit Lions which also served to secure their last-place status in rushing yards. It would be fair to say that the offense has not been functioning for the large majority of the season so far, and that’s something Davis explained had to change. “It just didn’t seem like it was jelling,” Davis said. “And as you watched it, it just seemed like it was very important that we made a change.” It’s important to note that McDaniels was not the only team-related change that was made. OC Mick Lombardi was also shown the door, while quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo will be on the bench for Week 9′s date with the New York Giants. Aidan O’Connell will take the field in his place.

Can lightning strike twice? Mark Davis seems to hope so

You may recall that back in October 2021, the Raiders were faltering - to say the least - under then-head coach Jon Gruden. As is the case now, Davis took the decision to dismiss his coach which saw interim coach Rich Bisaccia lead the team to a 7-5 record across their last 12 games, and more importantly, a spot in the playoffs. It would appear, Davis is hoping for a similar outcome once again. “What I thought was, let’s try to figure out a way to fix this and see what we can do,” Davis said. “We still have a shot.”

Antonio Pierce’s appointment was the “right choice” for Mark Davis

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It doesn’t take one more than a glance at Antonio Pierce’s CV, to note that the Raiders interim coach has essentially no experience as a head coach in the NFL. Until last year, Pierce had never even been part of the coaching staff for a single team in the league, despite having played in the NFL for almost a decade. Yet, that’s something that Davis doesn’t see when he looks at the former linebacker. “I got the feeling he was the right guy at the right time,” Davis said. “Someone who can lead and create and have the respect of the team. After talking to him, I was very confident he was the right choice.”

Has Mark Davis got it wrong?

That’s a tough one to answer. On the one side, it’s clear that the Raiders needed a change. On the other, the questions about who exactly is interim coach Antonio Pierce, are well deserved. On Sunday, Pierce will face the team with whom he played five of his nine seasons in the NFL, the New York Giants who are currently 2-6. At 3-5, a loss to the Giants would not at all be a good start to the 45-year-old’s head coaching career. With that said, one also has to imagine that if Pierce can steady the ship i.e., take the team to the playoffs, it will go a long way towards removing the term ‘interim’ from his job description.