Six-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Davante Adams is not happy with the direction of the Las Vegas Raiders. The superstar pass catcher said Tuesday that the Raiders are “not doing things the right way to establish a winning culture.” Should Josh McDaniels and the Raiders be worried about Adams' frustration? Absolutely.

The concern is not that the Raiders are in danger of losing Davante Adams. I mean, that's also a concern, but it's insignificant in the bigger picture. The concern is that Adams is right, and keeping him around isn't going to solve the deep-seated problems of this organization. He's an excellent player, and of course Vegas wants to keep him, but let's take a step back.

The four pillars of a successful NFL franchise are ownership, front office, coaching and quarterback play. Only when those posts are adequately manned can a team pursue successful roster construction and extended playoff success. The quarterback (which Las Vegas also doesn't have figured out) is the most important part of an NFL organization on Sundays. But culture is built by the other three pillars, and that's where the Raiders' real problems lie.

 

Ownership

Mark Davis is the majority owner of the Raiders. He inherited the team in 2011 from his father Al Davis, who was an NFL legend. Throughout his career, Al Davis was a commissioner, a coach, a general manager and an owner. He guided the Raiders to three Super Bowl victories in his 39 years as the principal owner of the franchise.

Mark Davis has yet to attain that level of success, but as far as owners go, he's fine. He cares about the team's on-field success, the fans seem to like him, and he's willing to spend on talent (most of the time). Furthermore, the Raiders still have a great fan base. They're passionate, loyal, and plentiful.

However, ownership is also about stability, which the Raiders have severely lacked. In Davis' first 10 years as the active head of the franchise, he hired three general managers and six head coaches.

Chaos in the Raiders organization peaked in 2021, the third year of Jon Gruden's second stint as the head coach. Quick recap: Gruden's derogatory emails surfaced, bringing lots of backlash towards the franchise, and Gruden resigned. Shortly thereafter, Henry Ruggs, the Raiders' first-round pick in 2020, was arrested for a drunk driving incident that killed a 23-year-old woman. The following week, another first-round pick Damon Arnette was released following a hit-and-run lawsuit and a death threat he made on social media.

Davis doesn't deserve all of the blame for these incidents, but he is the figurehead of a franchise that clearly has character issues. There's some overlap between ownership and the front office, so let's talk about general managers.

 

Front Office

Mike Mayock was the general manager of the team when the Gruden/Ruggs/Arnette drama went down. His first move at the head of the Raiders' front office back in 2019 was trading for Antonio Brown. We all know how that went, and the Brown saga was essentially an omen for everything that ultimately went wrong two years later.

Mayock was out by 2022, and Davis brought in the current regime of Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels. Ziegler's first big move was trading for Davante Adams, giving up a first and second-round pick, then inking him to a 5-year, $141 million contract.

Despite high hopes for the 2022 season, the Raiders finished 6-11 and parted ways with long-time quarterback Derek Carr. With the seventh pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Ziegler should have tried to move up to get a new quarterback. Instead, he drafted edge rusher Tyree Wilson and traded away star tight end Darren Waller. Why would a team give up so much to get Adams and then trade away its next best weapon?

It doesn't make sense, unless Ziegler wants to tank for a high draft pick next year. But if that's the case, that is the definition of a losing culture, and Adams is right that the Raiders are moving in the wrong direction.

 

Head Coach

Josh McDaniels was a highly-successful offensive coordinator for the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick. In various positions, McDaniels helped the Patriots to all six Super Bowl titles with Belichick and Tom Brady. However, he wasn't a successful head coach with the Denver Broncos, and he hasn't been with the Raiders either.

McDaniels is respected as a smart offensive mind in football circles, but he has proven he cannot lead a franchise as a head coach. There's no need to dwell on the initial hiring, but the sooner the Raiders move on from McDaniels, the better.

 

Quarterback

The quarterback is the face of an NFL team, and it's the easiest to diagnose when there's a problem at that position. The Raiders signed Jimmy Garoppolo to a 3-year, $67.5 million contract, reuniting him with McDaniels. Garoppolo was a backup quarterback on the Patriots while McDaniels was still in New England.

Garoppolo isn't necessarily a bad quarterback, but he'll never be the reason a franchise has a ton of success. He's the ultimate game manager and has done well in his career because he has been in excellent quarterback-friendly situations. In his six years with the San Francisco 49ers, he made it to one Super Bowl appearance and another NFC Championship Game appearance.

However, recent history has shown us that it doesn't really matter who the 49ers' quarterback is. The 49ers moved on from Garoppolo and started Trey Lance in 2022, but Lance broke his ankle in Week 2. Garoppolo took back over as the starter until he also went down. Brock Purdy took over and didn't lose a game until the NFC Championship Game. The 49ers damn well may have won that game too if Purdy didn't also tear up his elbow. The point is Garoppolo isn't the reason those 49ers teams made deep playoff runs.

Kyle Shanahan's offense is brilliant, and San Francisco's roster is absolutely stacked. Outside of that comfort zone, Garoppolo has not looked great. Through three games with the Raiders, Garoppolo is 1-2, with a 81.4 passer rating and five touchdowns to a league-leading six interceptions.

Davante Adams spent most of his career playing with Aaron Rodgers. It's not hard to see why he's frustrated with the significant downgrade in quarterback play. He knows this is not sustainable, and the Raiders are not going to put together championship-contending teams with McDaniels and Garoppolo at the forefront.

 

Outlook

The quarterback is a problem. The head coach is a problem. It's not quite clear yet if the general manager is a problem, and the Raiders get half marks for the ownership picture. On top of that, the roster is pretty mediocre and the defense hasn't been good in ages.

Adams is the best player on the team, and he has high standards for success. If he decides he wants out, that's a problem for the Raiders, considering how much they gave up to get him. But Adams' frustration isn't the biggest concern. It's the reasons Adams is frustrated and the fact that he's right.

You can't tell me with a straight face that the Raiders have a winning culture. There's no reason to believe they're headed in the right direction. Sometimes, going forwards means taking a step back, and that might be necessary to rebuild this franchise. Tear it down, get the quarterback and the coach right, then worry about the rest. One great pass rusher or tight end or cornerback is not what is going to solve the Raiders' woes.