Mark Davis has one of the most challenging jobs in football. The son of the legendary Al Davis is in charge of stewarding the Raiders franchise and bringing it back to the top of the pro football mountain.
Al Davis understood the nuances and machinations of professional football better than any other owner for a very long time. He understood how to gain control of the Raiders franchise in the mid-1960s and how to build a brilliant team and keep it near the top for 20 years through the 1985 season. They continued to play respectably in most seasons through 2002, when they went to their 5th and last Super Bowl. That game was a debacle that resulted in a 48-21 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The bottom dropped out of the franchise after that loss, and the Raiders have had just two playoff appearances since, losing in the Wild Card round both times.
The senior Davis died in 2011, and his magic touch with the franchise left him long before he left this mortal coil. His son has tried to pick up the baton, and he gave the team a fresh coat of paint from a business perspective when the team moved to Las Vegas and got their own modern stadium.
But the on-the-field moves have resulted in consistent failures. The Raiders parted company with head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler in a midnight massacre heading into the Raiders’ Week 9 game against the Giants. Offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi was fired hours later.
“Mark Davis clearly does not have his father’s expertise when it comes to personnel, but he understands that things have not been running the way they are supposed to,” said one NFC executive.
Davis had no time to waste with Raiders
Davis could not wait for the Raiders’ bye in Week 13, because that could have resulted in 4 more losses. Players like Davante Adams and Josh Jacobs have expressed their frustration with McDaniels and the lack of progress the team has made.
The offense is completely broken, and it was there for the world to see in their Monday night 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions. The game was not as close as the score would indicate.
The Raiders’ offense only scored 7 points – the other 7 came on a 75-yard interception return — and managed just 157 total yards. Other key stats included a shockingly poor average of 3.5 yards per play and 20 minutes of possession, compared to 40 minutes for the Lions.
This game came on the heels of a 30-12 loss to the Chicago Bears, one of the most incompetent teams in Roger Goodell’s 32-team league.
This made the decision to make changes among the coaching staff an inevitability. McDaniels was hired by the Raiders because he is supposedly an offensive genius, something verified by his previous work as an offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots. Not only did McDaniels have Bill Belichick’s backing – hired multiple times – he was backed by Tom Brady.
What more did he need to qualify as a head coach?
Apparently quite a bit. McDaniels has failed badly in two head coaching stints with the Denver Broncos and the Raiders. The “genius” of McDaniels does not extend to reaching his players and getting them to play for him. That is a big part of coaching, and it is very difficult to define.
McDaniels missing key characteristic
The players don’t have to like the coach to play hard for him. It’s not respect for his accomplishments either. There has to be a belief that the coach knows what he is doing and has his team moving in the right direction at all times.
The players had clearly left McDaniels’ side, and the more likely scenario is that they never thought he was going in the right direction.
Davis had been disappointed with the Raiders 6-11 mark last year, but he wanted to give McDaniels a chance to turn the situation around and prove himself this year. But after back-to-back embarrassments against the Bears and Lions, he couldn’t let the McDaniels mess go on any further.
Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce will take over on an interim basis with the hope that this is a case of addition by subtraction. The departure of McDaniels may result in the Raiders players coming together and playing to their potential for a week or two.
They will still need a solid head coach after that, but a couple of good games will demonstrate that Davis made the right move by getting rid of McDaniels.
Bears regime continues to disintegrate
The Chicago Bears are struggling through the 2023 season, and that’s a familiar position for the NFL’s flagship franchise.
The history of failure since their appearance in Super Bowl XLI (following the 2006 season) against the Indianapolis Colts has been quite remarkable.
That team was coached by Lovie Smith and he remained at the helm through the 2012 season, and they largely played competitive football throughout his tenure. His teams were basically strong on the defensive side of the ball and struggled with their offensive play.
Since Smith’s final season, the Bears have been coached by Marc Trestman, John Fox, Matt Nagy and Matt Eberflus. All were abysmal failures, and Eberflus may prove to be the worst.
Assistant coaches have been falling by the wayside this season as defensive coordinator Allan Williams was sent packing in September. He technically resigned from his position, but he did not leave by choice. The Bears fired running backs coach David Walker even though Chicago has the sixth-best running attack in the league.
Both firings emanated largely from the team’s human resources department, and leaks on the real reasons are few and far between.
Eberflus on last legs?
But as the Bears struggle with a 2-6 record following their 3-14 disaster in 2022, it seems that a new head coach will be given an opportunity following the Black Monday news in early January.
Eberflus has a rudderless team on his hands that can’t find any direction. The quarterback issues that have impacted this team for generations remain intact.
Justin Fields is the latest prospect to fall short of expectations. He is in his 3rd year with the Bears and he has made a series of wow plays with his legs and an occasional deep pass, but he has failed to find open receivers on short- and medium-range passes.
To say Fields is still a work in progress is giving him a break he does not deserve. Fields has started 31 games in his career and he has a 35-27 touchdown to interception ratio. Now that Fields is out with a thumb injury, several pundits have said that undrafted rookie free agent Tyson Bagent has a better understanding of how to play the position than the No. 11 pick in the first round of the 2021 draft.
They may be right. But nobody knows for sure, and that includes Eberflus and his offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
The head coach should be able to diagnose the difference between his starting quarterback and an overachieving undrafted free agent. It does not appear that Eberflus has that ability.
General manager Ryan Poles has not distinguished himself either, but he probably has one more year left to turn this moribund team around. It is unlikely it will be enough to repair this situation.
This and that
Immediate reviews of 4 major deals on the NFL’s trade deadline:
Bills trade for Packers CB Rasul Douglas – Fairly decent depth move for the Bills, but Douglas is far below the standards for the best starting defensive backs in the league. Douglas can make the big interception from time to time, but he will get beaten at crucial moments. Should not be an every-down defensive back. Grade: C+
49ers trade for Commanders DE Chase Young – If Young is healthy, he can be a dominating player for a team that has hit a 3-game losing streak. The Niners have plenty of defensive talent on the front line, but their secondary is vulnerable and general manager John Lynch should have looked in that direction. Grade: B-
Vikings trade for Cardinals QB Joshua Dobbs – Excellent move by Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah in light of Kirk Cousins' Achilles injury. Dobbs is extremely smart, and very athletic and will be able to help keep this team alive for the short run. The Vikings could make the playoffs, but a long run without Cousins is extremely doubtful. Grade: A-
Bears trade for Commanders DE Montez Sweat – A year after giving up a second-round draft pick for Steelers wide receiver Chase Claypool – a move that was a disaster – they gave up another second-rounder for Sweat. While he is a very good all-around defensive lineman, the thought of trading draft picks for veteran players on a team that appears destined to lose is questionable at best. Grade: C-
The Rodgers update
Aaron Rodgers continues to make progress in his rehab following Achilles surgery. He has been seen walking around without crutches or a boot and has made a few pre-game throws prior to last week’s game against the Giants.
General manager Joe Douglas confirmed that Rodgers is doing quite well and that his recovery is moving in the right direction.
“We’re taking everything day by day. Certainly, we’ll all be excited when he’s back in the fold, just as a person and the leader he is. I’m not a doctor so I can’t go into the specifics on the rehab. We’re expecting Aaron to be back.”
He later walked his statement back, saying that the Jets expected to be with the team, but would not commit to him being back on the field in a game situation.
However, the Jets have won 3 games in a row. If they can remain in contention into December, who knows?
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