Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels remains a bit of an unknown at this time. While he is undoubtedly an outstanding offensive coordinator who has been at the reins of some top-tier offenses, his record as a head coach has led many to question whether he is one of those coaches who is just better off as a coordinator.
After re-building his stock in New England after a rough first head coaching stint in Denver, the Raiders gave McDaniels their head coaching job last year, but the team struggled to a 6-11 finish. Now in his second season, the pressure is on for McDaniels to deliver a winning team, and one person who believes he can is Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd.
In a recent edition of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, the host outlined his reasonings for believing McDaniels can be a good head coach, believing he checks some important boxes, via Raider Ramble:
“There are three boxes he checks, and they are important boxes. Belichick respected him enough to give him the offense for over a decade. That is a big box to check. Belichick doesn’t just give the offense for long sustained periods of time to a guy that he doesn’t think is smart. We also know [Tom] Brady loved him, absolutely love him. Brady had problems with coaches down in Tampa. He didn’t have any problems with Josh McDaniels.
We also know, and this matters, he’s verbal. He obviously interviews well. The Colts have offered him a job, the Raiders offered him a job, apparently he goes into a room and can sell himself […] There’s a lot to like. Belichick absolutely trusted him, Brady loved him, he’s verbal and he interviews well. We just don’t know about this organization.”
Cowherd, like some others, doesn’t completely trust the Raiders ownership under Mark Davis. But he does make some good points about McDaniels being completely trusted by arguably the greatest coach and quarterback in NFL history. Additionally, his ability to communicate with players is an important skill for a head coach.
The question is whether he can put it all together and get the best out of this Raiders team that, as Cowherd also pointed out, has some important pieces in place. Cowherd noted the Raiders having the star edge rusher, wide receiver and running back along with a good left tackle and a competent quarterback which could have the makings of a double-digit win team. Now McDaniels will have to deliver it.
