A new report suggests that former Las Vegas Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler was completely against making Jimmy Garoppolo the team’s new starting quarterback, however, he was shockingly outranked in the decision, and many others, by former head coach Josh McDaniels.
There was no bigger story in the NFL last week than the Raiders making the bold decision to fire not only head coach Josh McDaniels but also GM Dave Ziegler. The duo were hired at the same time in 2022 and expected to bring the “Patriot Way” to the silver-and-black after being a part of the New England Patriots’ recent dominance in the league.
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However, after posting a 9-16 record and being seen as the cause of major unrest in the locker room and fanbase, the Patriots alums were sent packing in Week 9. The assumption was that McDaniels and Ziegler were aligned in many of the decisions the organization made when it came to the roster over the last year and a half — especially the major ones. But that may not have at all been the case for the long-time co-workers.
Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler reportedly disagreed on many major Las Vegas Raiders decisions
On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated Raiders insider Hondo S. Carpenter offered up some fascinating intel about the consistent divide McDaniels and Ziegler had on roster decisions. One of the most notable was the choice of fellow Patriots alum Jimmy Garoppolo to be the replacement for released former star Derek Carr. A move the former GM reportedly hated but did not have enough poor to stop.
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“Dave and Josh disagreed on a lot,” Carpenter started by writing in a new Q&A column. “I will not get into all of it. I will after the season, but Josh was in charge. I will get into the 10 biggest disagreements that they had and where both of them failed after the season. I will give you one area on which they disagreed vehemently, but you’ll have to wait for the others. Josh wanted Jimmy Garoppolo, and Dave thought it was a terrible decision. Plenty of more details and other examples after the year.”
In the end, the Garoppolo decision, his terrible play on the Raiders, and how bad the offense has been in 2023 played a big part in sinking McDaniel’s tenure, and his failure likely led to the collateral damage of Ziegler being ousted as well in Week 9.
The Las Vegas Raiders won their first game without both men this past weekend in dominant fashion over the Giants, 30-6.