After getting sacked by the Denver Broncos due to an 11-17 record in two seasons, Josh McDaniels tried his best to avoid the same blow of losing his job during the regular season. Nevertheless, nothing was going in favor of him. His quarterback, Jimmy Garoppolo got ruled out of several games due to injuries, and after going 3-5 till week 8, the HC himself got off the front office roster.
McDaniels became the first coach this season to get sacked midway through for team’s regressive record. However, the decision to bid adieu to him before the end of his contract fell financially heavy on the Raiders as well.
How much did Josh McDaniels’ sacking cost the Raiders?
The Raiders appointed McDaniels as their coach in January 2022 and signed him to a six-year deal worth up to almost $10 million per season. This salary tied him with the San Francisco 49ers Kyle Shanahan for the eighth-highest HC in the NFL.
McDaniels had still four years left on his contract, but the Raiders decided to part ways with him and general manager Dave Ziegler as well as some of the coaching staff midway through. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, this sudden move will cost the team approximately $85 million.
Raiders gave Josh McDaniels a six-year contract in January 2022. He has over four full year left on the deal that the Raiders are obligated to pay. pic.twitter.com/aOjrl7AtX7
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 1, 2023
Schefter noted that some of these costs will be defrayed by offsets as well as mitigation. Though the firings were described by the NFL insider as “an expensive move nonetheless”, he also noted Raiders owner Mark Davis is more focused on building a winning team than losing cash.
Who replaced Josh McDaniels in the Raiders dugout?
After sacking Josh, the Raiders announced their decision to assign linebacker coach Antonio Pierce the task of interim head coach. Pierce is a former NFL star who went undrafted in 2001 but had a good football career later which includes winning Super Bowls in 2008. He retired from the league in 2010 and started his coaching career in 2014.
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) November 1, 2023
The veteran served as the associate head coach at Arizona State (2020–21) and was also the head coach at Long Beach Poly High School (2014–17). He served as the Raiders LB coach for one and a half seasons. The ex-NFL star overshadowed defensive coordinator Patrick Graham as well as senior defensive assistant Rob Ryan to earn the spot of the franchise’s interim HC.
Besides Pierce, the Raiders assigned current assistant general manager Champ Kelly the duty of interim GM. What’s your take on the team’s recent roster moves? Tell us in the comments.
