We know that there was drama between former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler before both were fired Halloween night.
Speculation ramped up after their firings that the two were split over whether to sign veteran quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo this past offseason. McDaniels was for it. Ziegler had concerns over Garoppolo’s injury history. In the end, it was McDaniels who overruled Ziegler.
To say that the Garoppolo signing did not work out swimmingly for Vegas would be an understatement. Immediately after McDaniels and Ziegler were fired, interim head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Champ Kelly opted to bench him in favor of rookie Aidan O’Connell.
Garoppolo will likely conclude his first and only season with the Silver and Black having thrown seven touchdowns compared to nine interceptions in six starts while missing ample time to injury. Like most aspects of his short-lived tenure in Southern Nevada, McDaniels proved to be wrong in this regard.
Respected Raiders insider Hondo Carpenter of Sports Illustrated just penned a darn good long-form piece on the situation behind the scenes between McDaniels and Ziegler.
Within the piece, Carpenter reported that Ziegler absolutely loved Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud leading up to the 2023 NFL Draft.
“Dave felt he was a generational talent, and Kelly loved him. Ziegler had done his research. He knew the cost to move up to No. 1 and even No. 2,” a source told Carpenter.
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The report went on to indicate that the cost of moving up to No. 1 overall was too high for both McDaniels and Ziegler. However, the former was not willing to move up to the second selection for Stroud. He was higher on Bryce Young, who ended up being the first overall selection of the Carolina Panthers after they traded up with the Chicago Bears.
“He felt the cost was cheap, and he was willing to do almost anything that didn’t include Maxx Crosby,” the report read.
In the end, McDaniels found a way to overrule Ziegler as he had done in signing Garoppolo in the first place back in March. Ziegler’s preference was fellow veteran Jacoby Brissett, who also had a history with the two dating back to their days together with the New England Patriots.
Las Vegas Raiders’ dysfunction could have cost them C.J. Stroud
We have absolutely no idea how things would’ve played out behind the scenes. Were the Houston Texans willing to move off the second pick in the draft? It’s an open question given how much their brass loved Stroud. What we do know is that Ziegler knew the cost — likely through conversations with the Texans — and was willing to pull the trigger.
Fast forward several months, and Stroud is in the midst of an historical rookie season. He is coming off a month of November in which the youngster earned both the AFC Offensive Player of the Month and AFC Offensive Rookie of the Month honors. Stroud has broken multiple records throughout his first 11 NFL starts.
- C.J. Stroud stats (2023): 64% completion, 3,266 yards, 22 total TD, 5 INT
An argument can even be made that Stroud is a darkhorse candidate for the NFL MVP award. Meanwhile, Young has struggled to the tune of nine touchdowns and eight interceptions in 10 starts for a one-win Panthers team that just fired head coach Frank Reich after just 11 games.
Circling back to the Raiders. Antonio Pierce is heading things as their interim head coach while the aforementioned Kelly sits atop the front office, also on an interim basis.
Related: C.J. Stroud and the top NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates
Vegas finds itself at 5-7 on the season and hanging on to viability in the AFC Playoff race heading into Week 13. Garoppolo has been relegated to benchwarmer duties. There is no current plan in place to move the downtrodden organization into the future.
Mark Davis is among the most embattled owners in professional sports and will ultimately be the chief decision-maker when it comes to a new hierarchy after the 2023 season.