The Las Vegas Raiders are done with Josh McDaniels and David Ziegler.
The Raiders announced late Tuesday night that they had parted ways with McDaniels, the head coach, and Ziegler, the general manager, after the franchise fell to 3-5 this season. The announcement came one day after the Raiders’ 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions.
“After long consideration of what the Raiders need moving forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave,” owner Mark Davis said in a statement. “I would like to thank them both for their hard work and wish them and their families nothing but the best.”
The Raiders are the first team in the league to fire their head coach this season. Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce is expected to be named the team’s interim coach, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Pierce, who resigned as an assistant at Arizona State amid an NCAA investigation, will lead the Raiders in their Sunday game against the New York Giants this week. Pierce played nine seasons in the NFL, five of them with the Giants, including the season in which they won the Super Bowl in 2007.
It’s unclear when Davis will look for a coach or who he might recruit for the full-time job.
McDaniels was in the middle of his second season and led the Raiders to a 9-16 mark in Las Vegas. The Raiders hired him after ten years as offensive coordinator of the New England Patriots, where he won three Super Bowls alongside Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. The Raiders were his second stint as a head coach in the league, following two years with the Denver Broncos in 2009 and 2010. He was also fired in the middle of his second season with the Broncos.
The Raiders gave McDaniels a six-year contract when they hired him.
The Raiders also hired Ziegler when they brought in McDaniels. Ziegler worked in the Patriots’ front office for most of McDaniels’ time and was promoted to director of player personnel before getting the job in Las Vegas. The two also worked together in Denver and were teammates in college at John Carroll University.
The Raiders have gotten off to a slow start this season, losing five of their last seven games from last season. The Raiders managed 157 yards of offense in their loss to the Lions on Monday night, while Detroit managed just under 500 yards. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo — who was injured and missed last week’s loss to the Chicago Bears — failed to complete a pass to a wide receiver in the first half, and both star wide receiver Davante Adams and All-Pro running back Josh Jacobs were extremely frustrated in Detroit.
These offensive struggles have been a problem all season. The Raiders are averaging 268.3 yards per game, which is better than just the Giants, and just 15.8 points per game, which is better than just the Giants and Patriots.
Hours after the trade deadline, Davis decided to call it quits and make a change.