The Las Vegas Raiders have been through a lot this season. The second season of Josh McDaniels was off to a terrible start. With newly-acquired QB Jimmy Garoppolo, Las Vegas' offense regressed heavily. They've struggled against most of their opponents, and were just 3-5 heading into Week 9. McDaniels was understandably fired, and Garoppolo was benched.

Replacing McDaniels and Garoppolo were ex-LBs coach Antonio Pierce and Raiders backup Aidan O'Connell, respectively. In their first game after the firing, the Raiders came out with fires lit under them. They ended up destroying the New York Giants 30-6, which is mighty impressive. After the game, O'Connell gave a glowing review of Pierce that should encourage fans, per ProoFootballTalk.

“He did a great job,” O’Connell said of Pierce. “It was a hard situation, a short week, an unfortunate situation that he took full advantage of. He’s a guy with strong convictions and you can feel his intensity when he talks. Guys believe in him and we (Raiders) just, all around, offense, defense, special teams, did a really good job executing.”

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That last sentence, in particular, is the biggest difference between Pierce and McDaniels. The biggest red flag surrounding McDaniels was his poor ability to be a leader. He's a talented offensive coordinator, but he's had trouble getting people to follow his lead. He had a tendency to turn the locker room against him, and that happened with the Raiders as it did with the Broncos years ago.

Are the Raiders going to right the ship this season fully now that McDaniels is gone? Unlikely: they have a tough schedule moving forward, and with the strength of the AFC itself, a Wild Card berth seems improbable. Still, even just squeezing seven wins from this season would be a massive upgrade for the team.