This is an unmitigated disaster. The Raiders' season is crumbling, writes tashanreed. And who will likely take the fall? Derek Carr.
to add one of the league’s best pass rushers of the past decade to bolster their defense and hired the general manager-head coach tandem of Dave Ziegler and Josh McDaniels to steer the ship in an all-in effort to win.
“It needed to be done,” Carr said. “I’m always going to just show the way. I’m going to show the way, show them what it looks like and show them how hard it is. … Josh always preaches, ‘Do the hard things right.’ And I’m not perfect; I’m never going to be perfect, but the love that I have for this place and the effort that I’ll give will be second to none every time. … But I think the emotion of just nine years of stuff hit me today for how much I really love this place.
The reality of the situation is that it’s unlikely McDaniels loses his job during Year 1. Within the last year, owner Mark Davis, who was seen entering the locker room after the game, has already paid a settlement to former head coach Jon Gruden. In firing McDaniels, he’d also be signing up to pay him for years to come in addition to whoever they would go on to hire as his replacement.
As cruel as it may seem, Carr, who clearly cares just as much as anyone, stands out as the scapegoat who’ll ultimately take the fall. The Raiders gave him an extension just a few months ago, but they can move on from him after this season with a minimal dead money hit.