Las Vegas Raiders fans aren’t exactly smitten with Josh McDaniels. In fact, with the team just 1-3 through four games, fans are already calling for owner Mark Davis to admit the mistake he made in hiring McDaniels and fire the embattled head coach. He was an unpopular hire at the time and has continued to prove time and time again why he hasn’t been a successful head coach in the National Football League.
Fans went even as far as to badger Davis during the team’s 24-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers this past Sunday. They badgered the owner to fire the unpopular coach, but were told by Davis to “smarten up.”
But as the Raiders’ struggles continue, the fans are getting closer and closer to reaching a boiling point with the former New England Patriots offensive coordinator.
Unsurprisingly, fans were not happy with the comments that McDaniels made about his young quarterback, Aidan O’Connell. The former fourth-round pick out of Purdue made his NFL debut in the loss to the Chargers and completed 24 of 39 pass attempts (61.5 percent) for 238 yards with zero touchdowns and an interception. He was sacked seven times and fumbled three times (two lost).
“He’ll be the first one to understand the things that he could do better,” McDaniels told reporters following the AFC West divisional battle. “Playing quarterback in our league starts with taking care of the football, whether that be hanging on to it in the pocket, or making good decisions in the passing game. And, also understanding the timing and that element of playing within the pocket in the NFL. It’s not always the same week-to-week. It depends on the rush. It depends on who you are dealing with and how they play. The coverage structures force us to do other things, and then you gotta speed up your reads a little bit and get to the outlet.
“I thought he did better as the game wore on. He dumped the ball down to [Josh Jacobs], I don’t know how many times, but a number of times when they were trying to run out of there. I thought he adapted to the game a little bit as it went on. We’ll take every opportunity to learn from the mistakes we made as a team and I’m sure he will also as a quarterback and try to get better from it.”
The NFL world was quick to react as McDaniels backed the bus up on O’Connell.
Never seen Raiders twitter so united https://t.co/nQHONkM7fQ
— BD Williams (@BDWilliams18) October 3, 2023
Still thinking about this answer today.
Makes me wonder if he thinks it’s his job to develop his players at all. Or if he expects them to be fully formed pros- sink or swim- by the time they get to him. Pieces to use.
And it’s not just him. https://t.co/HeLseOzUYs
— Lindsay Rhodes (@lindsay_rhodes) October 3, 2023
Throwing your rookie QB under the bus after putting him in position to lose is an example on why former players hate him, he is inept and a scumbag. #FireJoshMcDaniels #FireMcDaniels https://t.co/2iDw9Vn48Q
— Ryan P (@Ryp2020) October 2, 2023
Imagine taking a rookie QB who you’ve had inactive all season and throwing him into a game last minute against a rabid Khalil Mack who has a vendetta against the Raiders, who had a few mistakes with ball security but held his own and played with poise despite of it and throwing… https://t.co/3xTm9ZPpWV
— Kenny King Jr (@KennyKing_Jr) October 2, 2023
The QB you signed because he was "your guy" still leads the league in interceptions, despite missing a week. O'Connell got sacked seven times and the game could've been a lot worse after the first half.
Play call to end the game was horrible, and puts a young QB in a horrible… https://t.co/pNWOvBvaHE
— Tristen Kuhn (@KuhnTristen) October 2, 2023
Crazy how he ain’t supporting the rook https://t.co/YzuUsHcMdp
— Reigns Design (@ReignsDsn) October 2, 2023
I say this again you are not a leader, you are a man who blames everyone but yourself. You have Hoyer more reps this week, your job to get him ready. Take responsibility or bounce, again you accepted that when you agreed to be the HC! Run the ball! #FireJoshMcDaniels https://t.co/j7rna6aBkj
— Isaac Avila (@youareloved193) October 2, 2023
https://twitter.com/s3po96/status/1708639012901081126?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1708639012901081126%7Ctwgr%5Eb80edf5287114d33dd030261e0463eb1f04be957%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2Fs3po962Fstatus2F1708639012901081126widget%3DTweet
It’s easy to see why those in the NFL world are so upset about McDaniels’ comments. His job appears safe for now, but, if what veteran sports reporter Bill Plaschke believed last season is correct, it explains why the Raiders are stuck with McDaniels for the foreseeable future. On ESPN’s Around the Horn last November, Plaschke attributed McDaniels’ job security to the organization’s financial status.
It remains to be seen how long the McDaniels experiment is allowed to continue in Las Vegas, but if the losses continue, so will the calls for his job.
