The Las Vegas Raiders looked like a dysfunctional mess in a humiliating loss on Monday Night Football, but anger from team owner Mark Davis had apparently been building for weeks.
The Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler late Tuesday. The search for their replacements is officially underway.
It’s not hard to imagine Davis being furious watching the Raiders implode on MNF against the Detroit Lions, a game that saw All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams slamming his helmet in frustration. But according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, Davis was already “volatile and angry,” and had been for weeks.
Davis was even angry after a Week 5 victory over the Green Bay Packers.
“The owner was so angry after a win got the attention of a lot of people in the building,” Breer reported.
Davis had also met with many players in recent weeks, giving him a good sense of the problems. And that all led to McDaniels and Ziegler getting sacked.
The Raiders are going with Antonio Pierce as their interim head coach and assistant general manager Champ Kelly as the interim GM while they search for full-time replacements.
Pierce told NFL Network that the players had shared the same sense of frustration Davis felt in recent weeks.
“You can just sense as a team, you can feel the aura in the building, you can feel the aura in the locker room and when you’re around the guys,” he said.
About Arthur Weinstein
Arthur spends his free time traveling around the U.S. to sporting events, state and national parks, and in search of great restaurants off the beaten path.