Four bold AFC West predictions for the 2023 season
By Grant Tuttle
2. Josh McDaniels will not finish the season with the Raiders
Perhaps this isn't that bold. I really don't know. It was pretty surprising how much patience Mark Davis showed with Josh McDaniels a season ago. In a season in which the expectations blew sky-high with the addition of Davante Adams, Davis showed a lot of restraint by allowing Josh McDaniels to hold onto the reigns after a 6-11 outing that ended with Jarrett Stidham quarterbacking and the NFL's 28th-ranked defense in terms of yards allowed.
Now, an offseason later, it is painfully difficult to understand what the Raiders' plan is going forward. By adding Jakobi Meyers and Jimmy Garoppolo on offense, they seem to be signaling to the rest of the league that they expect to be competitive. With that in mind, they invested heavily on young defenders with their draft capital. With very little being done to change the trajectory of the upcoming season or the near future, the Raiders look like they are hoping to do what they did last season, except be better this year, which will undoubtedly end in disaster.
This lack of vision and urgency from McDaniels is ultimately what I believe will cost him his job before the end of the year. Truly, it would not be stunning if the Raiders went winless against the division. Beyond that, Las Vegas does not seem like a team that has any business winning more than six games. By the end of the year, the Raiders will be looking for a new head coach. Perhaps Eric Bieniemy would fit the Raiders culture? We will have several weeks to consider who might take that place.