Mark Davis says Josh McDaniels doing a 'fantastic' job
On Oct. 30, Jeff Saturday tweeted, "Raiders look horrible."
Two weeks later, Saturday put his money where his fingers were, improbably leading his Indianapolis Colts to a 25-20 win over the Las Vegas Raiders six days after taking the job, his first NFL or college coaching job of any capacity.
This leaves the obvious question: What does that say about the Raiders?
Las Vegas is 2-7 under first-year head coach Josh McDaniels, and it's an ugly 2-7. Only two of the Raiders' nine opponents thus far would qualify for the 14-team NFL playoff field if the season ended today, low-lighted by Sunday's loss.
“I like Josh. I think he’s doing a fantastic job. That’s why I hired him,” owner Mark Davis told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “We did an exhaustive search and found the person we believe is going to bring the Raiders to greatness.”
The Raiders went 10-7 a year ago, playing into overtime of the 17th game before they were eliminated from playoff contention. That was under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, following Jon Gruden's midseason resignation.
In addition to bringing in McDaniels from New England, the Raiders also hired Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler as general manger. The team invested by trading for wide receiver Davante Adams and signing him to a 5-year, $140 million contract.
“As far as Josh goes, I have no issues,” Davis said. “I’m getting to know him a lot better. When you sign someone to a contract, don’t you expect him to fulfill the contract?”
There's also this tidbit, from the Review-Journal:
Asked specifically if he believes McDaniels is the long-term answer at head coach, Davis replied: “Why wouldn’t I?”
As always, stay tuned to The Scoop for the latest.
