Las Vegas Raiders coach Josh McDaniels has made himself the epicenter of the Raiders’ offense by running off quarterback Derek Carr and tight end Darren Waller.
And he hasn’t gone out of his way publicly to encourage Josh Jacobs, who led the NFL in rushing last season, to join the team. Jacobs is embroiled in a contract dispute with the team and did not arrive for the start of training camp this week.
McDaniels words may be softer, but his actions don’t appear all the different from his disastrous 28-game stretch as the Denver Broncos’ coach in 2009 and 2010. The Broncos fired him 12 games into his second season.
McDaniels, entering his second year with Raiders, has gone all in with quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The same Garoppolo who’s 40-17 as a starter, but has never passed for more than 4,000 yards or 27 touchdowns and started 16 games just once.
Garoppolo missed the last seven regular-season games and the playoffs with a foot injury. San Francisco released him in the offseason and McDaniels quickly reunited with him.
Sure, he coached Garoppolo from 2014-16 in New England, but Garoppolo has never been considered the kind of quarterback who can elevate a team with his arm talent or leadership skills.
And McDaniels needs to win now in one of the NFL’s toughest divisions. Last year, the Raiders finished 6-11, a game ahead of last-place Denver, which fired its coach and hired Sean Payton.
A tough stretch for Las Vegas Raiders
The Raiders haven’t won a playoff game since 2003, and they’ve had just two seasons with double-digit wins (2016 and 2021) in that span.
“Jimmy has generally taken care of the ball, he’s performed well under pressure, he’s played in significant games and big situations,” McDaniels said. “We want to replicate some of the success he’s had. He’s generally given his football team an opportunity to win.
“For me the most important number at that position — the only one I care about — is does he get wins on the board? Generally he has done that.”
Carr, the Raiders starter since 2014, saw his passer rating drop from 101.4 to 94.0 to 86.3 during the last three seasons with the Raiders. During a five-game stretch — the Raider went 2-3 — Carr had nine touchdown passes and nine interceptions. So McDaniels benched him for the final two games.
The Raiders traded Waller, in part, because he started only 17 games the past two seasons due to a variety of injuries. Waller had more than 1,100 yards receiving in 2019 and 2020.
The issue with Garoppolo is that he’s best when he doesn’t have to be the focal point of the offense. In San Francisco, coach Kyle Shanahan used the running game to protect him and control the game.
In Las Vegas, he has star receiver Davante Adams and little else until Jacobs signs his $10.1 franchise-tag offer, or reaches a long-term agreement with the Raiders.
“I respect every player’s right to try to do what’s best for them,” McDaniels said matter-of-factly. “Value and contract, those things are personal.
“I respect him as a player and a person and what he did for our team last year. It’s his decision to make.”
The Raiders struggled to win, even though Jacobs rushed for 1,653 and 12 touchdowns and Adams had 1,516 yards and 14 touchdowns.
Jimmy Garoppolo returning to first teacher
“Josh taught me the pro game when I was a rookie and my first couple years in the league,” Garoppolo said. “He acclimated me to the league.
“Everything I knew came from Josh and the Patriot days and we’re trying to get back to that.”
Las Vegas won 10 games the year before McDaniels arrived. He took that team and won four fewer games. Now, he’s trying to compete in a division where the other teams start Patrick Mahomes (Kansas City), Justin Herbert (Los Angeles) and Russell Wilson (Denver).
“Each year is different. It’s 23 for me, and no two years have ever been the same,” McDaniels said. “You’re going to hit some adversity. Some years you’re healthier, some years you’re not. Some years you start better, some years you don’t.
“We’re eager, we’re excited, we have a genuine good feeling about one other in the locker room. When the season starts, you don’t start there and stay there. It’s a process, and we’re going to hold each other to a high standard.”
Jean-Jacques Taylor is an NFL Insider for Sportsnaut and the author of the upcoming book “Coach Prime“, with Deion Sanders. Follow him on Twitter.