Raiders Hired Josh McDaniels As Coach & Dave Ziegler As GM – Were These Good Bets For Vegas?

The Las Vegas Raiders have hired Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler as their general manager and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as head coach.

McDaniels is no stranger to the division, as he coached the Denver Broncos for two seasons (2009-10). He went 11-17 and was fired after Week 13 in 2010 when the team went 3-9. It should be noted that he started his Denver tenure 6-0 before going 5-17.

The 44-year-old Ziegler replaces Mike Mayock, who was fired earlier this month.

The coaching spot was left vacant after Jon Gruden resigned on October 11 following an email scandal. Rich Bisaccia was promoted to interim coach and led the Raiders to a wild-card berth—the Raiders’ second in the past 19 seasons.

Both quarterback Derek Carr and defensive end Maxx Crosby tweeted messages of support for Bisaccia, who the former called “phenomenal coach and even better leader,” while Crosby said that he “can’t tell you how much this man has impacted not only myself but everyone in this building.”

McDaniels, 45, accepted the Indianapolis Colts’ head-coaching job in 2018 but then famously eschewed it after the Colts had announced the hire. It left the team “surprised and disappointed,” and Frank Reich was later hired.

The longest-tenured offensive coordinator with the same team in the NFL, McDaniels has held his title since 2012. Of his 21 NFL seasons, 18 have come in New England, which includes his initial stint from 2001 to 2008. He was St. Louis’ offensive coordinator in 2011.

McDaniels and Ziegler go way back, as the latter landed his first personnel job in the NFL under McDaniels with the Broncos in 2010. The two both attended John Carroll University and were teammates on the football team.