The Las Vegas Raiders overcame one of the most chaotic environments this season to earn themselves a playoff bid.
From the Damon Arnette and Henry Ruggs drama off the field to losing head coach Jon Gruden in the biggest off-the-field scandal of the 2021 NFL season, this team was able to come together despite this to compete for a chance to play in the playoffs, which is all any franchise can ask for.
Some credit for this has to go to former interim coach Rich Bisaccia, who many were hoping to keep the Raiders head coaching job after the season. The Raiders ultimately went in another direction, hiring longtime New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels yesterday.
Reports have now come out that many Raiders players were disappointed to hear the news of the new hiring.
Many Raiders players took to social media to show their love for their former interim coach yesterday.
The Raiders went 7-5 following Gruden’s resignation after their Week 5 game under Bisaccia. Given the gravity of the situation with Gruden, the team could have laid down and packed it in for the season, but with the help of Bisaccia, they fought to earn a playoff spot.
It makes sense why some Raiders players are so connected to Bisaccia in favor of McDaniels.
Bisaccia didn’t give up on the team through adversity, and McDaniels comes to the team with a track record of flaking on teams given he did that with his last possible head coaching situation in 2018 with the Indianapolis Colts.
McDaniels will be the guy in Las Vegas, but it appears he will certainly need to do some work to win over the locker room going forward to have any success for his duration as head coach.