While the Las Vegas Raiders have yet to play a game since firing head coach Josh McDaniels, at least one player on the team is already seeing a positive change.
Receiver Hunter Renfrow spoke about the change from McDaniels to interim coach Antonio Pierce.
Renfrow didn’t outwardly say anything negative about McDaniels. That said, it’s easy to see that he wasn’t exactly heartbroken about the coaching change.
“There is a different energy,” Renfrow said of the change — which resulted in both McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler getting fired — per Vic Tafur, The Athletic. “I think AP alluded to it, it’s fun when you have nothing to lose. Let’s go out there and have a great time and play hard and play fast … We’re not walking on egg shells everywhere.”
“There is a different energy,” Hunter Renfrow said. “I think AP alluded to it, it’s fun when you have nothing to lose. Let’s go out there and have a great time and play hard and play fast … We’re not walking on egg shells everywhere.”
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) November 2, 2023
Even if Renfrow didn’t say anything outwardly negative about McDaniels, his message was read loud and clear by the NFL world.
No one is saying anything blatantly but the message is pretty clear https://t.co/Piyi97EcLW
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) November 2, 2023
I think the players hated Mcdaniels as much as the fans did lmao https://t.co/5aWA4G8Xtt
— Raiders 8-9🏴☠️ (@_elBlazo) November 3, 2023
This vibe post coaching change makes this game unpredictable. The Colts won Jeff Saturday’s debut last year … and then lost their final seven games https://t.co/Q7ZMFNNUgx
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) November 3, 2023
“Not walking on eggshells.”
McDaniels created a toxic environment. Again. Same fkn story as in Denver.
You can be hard as nails with your people, but you better be damn good and damn consistent at being damn good.
Only thing McD was consistent at was running a shitshow. https://t.co/zs7oYhz1YG
— RaideRon (@macomboys) November 3, 2023
It can’t get any more clear than this…. https://t.co/ckfU1g3vno
— Moe Moton (@MoeMoton) November 2, 2023
It’s not surprising that Renfrow would be OK with this move. His production took a dramatic dip after McDaniels was hired. In 2021, Renfrow caught 103 passes for 1,038 yards with nine touchdowns and made the Pro Bowl. In 2022, McDaniels’ first season coaching the Raiders, Renfrow caught 36 passes for 330 yards with two touchdowns. This season, he’s caught 10 passes for 92 yards with no scores.
Additionally, Renfrow’s drop in production has coincided with the team’s fortunes turning negative.
While the Raiders endured a tumultuous season in 2021, it was positive on the field. Las Vegas was 3-2 when coach Jon Gruden resigned after emails of him using offensive language, including racial and homophobic slurs, became public knowledge. Rich Bisaccia took over and led the Raiders to a 7-5 record and a playoff appearance, only the second for the franchise since reaching the Super Bowl in the 2002 season.
Despite that, Bisaccia was not retained and McDaniels was hired as the head coach. Vegas was 6-11 under McDaniels in 2022. Monday night’s loss to the Detroit Lions moved the Raiders to 3-5 on the season and was ultimately McDaniels’ final game as head coach.
[Vic Tafur on Twitter]
