Raiders owner Mark Davis decided he had seen enough after his team suffered a 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions in the nationally televised Monday Night football game last week. The Raiders simply could not sustain any kind of consistent offense, and the team was not making any progress this season after finishing 6-11 a year ago. As a result, Davis fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.
Raiders’ owner Mark Davis demonstrated again this week that he will not let money influence how he operates his franchise: The firings of HC Josh McDaniels, GM Dave Ziegler and some of the coaching staff will cost Davis approximately $85 million.https://t.co/9oOXANFevF
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 4, 2023
The moves may give the team a lift as interim head coach Antonio Pierce takes over the on-field decisions and Champ Kelly serves as the interim GM. However, the moves will cost Davis quite a bit of money. League sources told ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter that the firings will cost the Raiders as much as $85 million.
Davis is apparently far less concerned with the cash he is spending than the product he is putting out on the field. He wants to return the Raiders to consistent winning and a playoff performer, and he thought McDaniels had those capabilities.
However, losing back-to-back road games to the Chicago Bears and Lions drove him to the conclusion that no progress was being made.
“Unfortunately, I had great hopes for Josh and Dave,” Davis said. “It just seemed we were going in the wrong direction. So, with the trade deadline, I just felt it was time to make a change, time to make a move.”
Pierce was the team's linebacker coach before he was promoted to the head coaching slot. He immediately benched starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo and installed rookie Aidan O'Connell as the team's starter.
The Raiders host the New York Giants in Week 9.
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