Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels was under fire late Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The embattled head coach opted to kick a field goal with just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and his team driving inside the Steelers’ 10-yard line. The problem? Vegas was down by eight points at the time.
McDaniels’ coaching decisions in the Raiders’ second consecutive loss drew the ire of fans in Southern Nevada. The backdrop here was frustration star wide receiver Davante Adams shared following the game.
“I don’t want to act like it’s all crazy. It’s Week 3, but I don’t got time to wait around. It’s not a personal thing; I mean it is a personal thing but it ain’t just about me. It’s not my mentality to take all season to try and figure it out. To use these early games like this to establish an identity and we’re not doing things the right way to establish a winning culture early in the season. We gotta do something to turn that around.”
Las Vegas Raiders star Davante Adams to reporters after Week 3 loss
Adams’ comments have made headlines around the NFL since then. Does he want out after less than two full seasons with the Raiders? Perhaps, it was just a display of frustration minutes after a narrow loss to a bitter rival.
One day later, and it seems as if McDaniels is in agreement over Adams’ frustration.
“I mean at some point you want to have it instead of be learning it. I think we’re all trying to compete and win. I know where he’s coming from, and I think we have a lot of guys that are coming from that same perspective,” McDaniels told reporters in his day-after press conference. “And it’s frustrating when you put a lot into it and you don’t get the results you’re looking for. So, I understand exactly where he’s coming from.”
It’s nice that McDaniels went to bat for his star wide receiver. But this doesn’t change one major fact. The Raiders have lost 13 of 20 games since the two joined the organization ahead of last season.
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McDaniels can be as frustrated as he wants. However, it likely doesn’t compare to what owner Mark Davis is feeling after yet another loss in a close game.
It was just three games into McDaniels’ first season with the Raiders that Davis held a closed-door meeting with his then-new head coach. It came following a 24-22 loss to the Tennessee Titans.
One has to wonder if Davis is running out of patience. Ten of the Raiders’ 13 losses with McDaniels as the coach have come by one score. Nine of those came during a 2022 campaign in which Vegas finished with a 6-11 record. This just isn’t sustainable.
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As for Adams and his frustration, the Pro Bowl wide receiver caught 13 passes for 172 yards and two touchdowns. It was not enough to overcome three interceptions thrown by new quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
As someone who showed this frustration last year, Adams has been vocal about the Raiders’ need to turn things around. It’s just not happening right now. And this could lead to a further rift within the organization. Whether that means McDaniels doesn’t last two full seasons in Vegas remains to be seen.