The Las Vegas Raiders are in the midst of change as owner Mark Davis decided to fire general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels.
Ziegler and McDaniels were unable to instill their version of the “Patriot Way” in Las Vegas and Davis made the correct decision to part ways with them. In their place, Champ Kelly and Antonio Pierce will act as the interim general manager and head coach, respectively.
Davis now has the tough task of trying to figure out who will replace Ziegler and McDaniels. Kelly and Pierce will have the opportunity to use the rest of the 2023 season to prove they’re worthy of the job, but it feels more likely that Davis will look outside the organization.
When it comes to making the decisions on who to hire, Davis will reportedly take advice from Tom Brady via Jonathan Jones of CBS as transcribed by Michael Hurley of CBS:
“What’s next in Vegas? Sources tell me Mark Davis is expected to rely on team executives and would-be partial owner Tom Brady for advice on who to lead the team. After a package deal last time, Davis will likely hire a GM first, and then a player-centric head coach after the season.”
Asking Brady is sort of funny given his connections to the Patriots organization, but he should at least be able to provide some insight as to what players look for in their preferred general managers and head coaches. Brady may not have any sort of franchise management experience, but his status as arguably the greatest player of all time will still carry weight.
The other interesting thing to consider is whether or not Brady was on board with firing Ziegler and McDaniels considering he is still in the process of buying a minority stake in the team. If he was, that could potentially bode well for Davis as it means he’s not tied to trying to implement the “Patriot Way” in Las Vegas.
Raiders reportedly ghosted every team at NFL trade deadline
Davis’ decision to fire Ziegler and McDaniels came the day after the trade deadline. The two were reportedly still involved in evaluating their choices at the deadline, but the organization apparently ghosted everyone who was considering a deal.
