The Las Vegas Raiders announced the sudden firings of head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler in a post shared on their official website and social media accounts at 10:00 p.m. local time Tuesday (October 31).
"After much thought about what the Raiders need to move forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave. I want to thank them both for their hard work and wish them and their families nothing but the best," said Las Vegas Raiders Owner Mark Davis in a statement.
The Raiders are reportedly expected to name linebackers coach Antonio Pierce as their interim head coach amid McDaniels' firing, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN's Adam Schefter early Wednesday (November 1) morning. Pierce, who played linebacker in the NFL from 2001 to 2009, joined the Raiders' staff ahead of the 2022 season.
McDaniels led the Raiders to a 9-16 record in 25 games as head coach, which included a third-place finish in the AFC West Division standings during his lone full season with the franchise. Las Vegas is currently 3-5 through its first eight games.
McDaniels had also previously coached the Denver Broncos to a combined 11-17 record in 2009 and 2010. The 47-year-old had also controversially backtracked on his agreement to become the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts in 2018 -- just two days after the Patriots' Super Bowl LII loss to the Philadelphia Eagles -- instead staying in New England as offensive coordinator for four more seasons.
Ziegler was hired as the Raiders general manager on January 30 2022 and hired McDaniels, his former John Carroll university college football teammate and boss during his stint as the Broncos' area scout in 2011 and pro scout in 2012, one day later. McDaniels was in his second stint as the New England Patriots' offensive coordinator then just three years removed from his sixth Super Bowl victory with the franchise at the time of his hiring.
The Raiders had previously made the postseason in 2021, with then-interim head coach Rich Bisaccia leading the team to a 10-7 finish, which included a 7-5 record in the final 12 games that succeeded former head coach Jon Gruden's resignation.
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