The things that culminated in the late-night firings of Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler seemed akin to Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” according to a new report.
A potential Las Vegas shakeup was brewing for weeks as owner Mark Davis grew “volatile and angry,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported Wednesday.
Breer painted a picture of an organization — from both an ownership and player standpoint — that was unhappy, and Monday night’s loss to the Lions was the breaking point.
Signs of trouble began as early as Week 5 during a win over the Patriots.
Davis was angry following the win, according to the report, which caught the attention of coaches and scouts and created an uneasy feeling.
That feeling continued the following week when McDaniels made the disastrous decision to start Brian Hoyer instead of rookie Aidan O’Connell against the woeful Bears.
Back issues kept Jimmy Garoppolo out of the lineup, and in McDaniels’ mind, Hoyer could give them a cleaner game, especially with the Bears starting rookie Tyson Bagent under center.
But quite the opposite happened as Hoyer was picked off twice and pulled from the 30-12 defeat after the second interception.
Days later, McDaniels held a meeting to allow any players to voice their thoughts as the Raiders sat 3-4 on the season.
What he had hoped would be a constructive meeting leading to more accountability, according to the report, turned into an “airing of grievances” — grievances that eventually made their way to Davis when he met with players.
After the firings, the organization named linebackers coach Antonio Pierce as their interim head coach and assistant general manager Champ Kelly as the interim GM.
During a news conference Wednesday, Pierce said the players hadn’t been themselves over the last two weeks.
“You can just sense as a team, you can feel the aura in the building, you can feel the aura in the locker room and when you’re around the guys,” Pierce said, according to NFL Network’s Bridget Condon.
The Raiders will face both New York football teams over the next two weeks, starting with the Giants at home this Sunday.
