Mark Davis on Josh Daniel, Dave Ziegler firings -- Raiders were heading in 'wrong direction' - ESPN

HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis had given himself the NFL's Oct. 31 trade deadline as his personal deadline to decide whether to make a switch not only at head coach but at general manager.

Davis ultimately fired Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler from those positions Tuesday night, less than two years after he hired them away from the New England Patriots.

«Unfortunately, I had great hopes for Josh and Dave,» Davis told ESPN on Wednesday. «It just seemed we were going in the wrong direction. So, with the trade deadline, I just felt it was time to make a change, time to make a move.»

An embarrassing 26-14 loss on «Monday Night Football» at Detroit all but sealed the duo's fate. It came one week after the Raiders were beaten 30-12 at the Chicago Bears, falling to an undrafted Division II rookie quarterback making his first career NFL start in Tyson Bagent.

In hiring McDaniels in January 2022, Davis pointed to his success as an imaginative offensive coordinator with the Patriots and his six Super Bowl rings. But that success did not translate to the Raiders.

McDaniels oversaw some of the most embarrassing losses in franchise history. They blew a 20-point lead to the Arizona Cardinals. They lost to the Indianapolis Colts in the coaching debut of Jeff Saturday, who had no previous coaching experience beyond high school football. Their starting offense failed to cross the 50-yard line in a shutout loss at the New Orleans Saints. They lost to Baker Mayfield after he had joined the Los Angeles Rams just three days prior.

This season's losses to the Bears and Lions were the final blows.

McDaniels' purported high-powered offense, led by his personal choice at quarterback in Jimmy Garoppolo and All-Pros at