Should Josh McDaniels have been fired? He never should have been hired
On Tuesday's PFT Live, Chris Simms and I discussed whether Raiders owner Mark Davis would fire coach Josh McDaniels. I didn't believe Davis would do it. And, of course, he did.
I didn't think Davis would do it because: (1) he wouldn't want to pay the buyouts; (2) he didn't see a financial gain that would offset the buyouts; and (3) the Patriot Way takes time to work.
Also, it was just a few weeks ago that Davis told a fan clamoring for McDaniels to be fired to "smarten up."
So when asking whether McDaniels (and G.M. Dave Ziegler) should have been fired, the reality is that he shouldn't have been hired in the first place. If Davis wasn't going to give him the time needed to compile a group of players that fit the Belichickian culture, Davis should have gone in a different direction after the 2021 season ended.
Davis should have, in hindsight, kept interim coach Rich Bisaccia and G.M. Mike Mayock.
Look at what they did, under horrendous circumstances. The Jon Gruden emails surface. Gruden leaves. Receiver Henry Ruggs takes a life in a drunk-driving incident.
Through it all, Bisaccia and Mayock guided the Raiders to the playoffs — and nearly beat the Bengals (who nearly won it all that year).
That wasn't good enough for Davis. He wanted a piece of the Patriot Way. But he ultimately ran out of patience, before it could take root.
It's smart to admit a mistake and move on. Doubling down rarely pans out. But the firing of McDaniels shows what a massive mistake it was for Davis to hire him.
