After another embarrassing loss, Josh McDaniels spent most of his morning-after press conference talking about his job security and his plan for the future.
In short, McDaniels, who has turned a 10-7 playoff team to a 2-7 team that is currently on pace for the No.2 overall draft pick, said he is not overly concerned about losing his job and stated the he and general manager Dave Ziegler are continuing to build their program, although he admitted the process is painful. The hurt hit a new level Sunday when the Raiders lost at home 25-20 to the Indianapolis Colts and interim coach Jeff Saturday, who was coaching his first game above the high-school level.
McDaniels said he hasn’t had a major meeting with Raiders’ owner Mark Davis about his job security in recent weeks but he said meetings with Davis, though, are regular. McDaniels said the owner has been “supportive” but he also feels his “urgency.”
After the presser, Davis strongly stood by McDaniels in an interview with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, going as far as saying “he is doing a fantastic job.” It’s the second time this season he has publicly stood by McDaniels.
“I like Josh. I think he’s doing a fantastic job. That’s why I hired him,” Mark Davis said. “We did an exhaustive search and found the person we believe is going to bring the Raiders to greatness.” #RaiderNation https://t.co/VQlsRv1wZr
— Las Vegas Review-Journal (@reviewjournal) November 14, 2022
The Athletic reported that McDaniels has been assured he will be with the team next year. Of course, things can always change.
Head coach Josh McDaniels has been given assurances by ownership that he will return to coach the Raiders in 2023, according to a team source. @theathletic
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) November 14, 2022
McDaniels said he isn’t worried about his job security. He said his approach is someone tells him “my time here is done, then my time is done.” McDaniels, who was fired in Denver in 2010 after 28 games, has lost 24 of his last 31 games as a head coach.
McDaniels was asked about if he is considering making any lineup changes or changes to his coaching staff. He indicated that’s not at the forefront of his thoughts, but admitted it could always happen. Yet, he also stated that he doesn’t believe in making changes out of frustration and or just to react. He said sometimes those types of moves can make the situation worse.
He did say that not every player or coach will be back next year. He said his goal is to make a “sustainable winner” in Las Vegas. “The process is slower and more painful than anybody wants it to be,” McDaniels said.
McDaniels said he appreciated the emotional words of quarterback Derek Carr and wide receiver Davante Adams after Sunday’s game. They questioned some unnamed teammates’ care and execution.
#Raiders QB Derek Carr got really emotional in his postgame press conference talking about how tough this season has been. pic.twitter.com/QxpX8HyOjW
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 14, 2022
Still, McDaniels said he doesn’t see a lack of effort from players. So, the quarterback and coach aren’t on the same page there.
He did indicate that defensive end Clelin Ferrell and rookie defensive tackles Neil Ferrell and Matthew Butler were all healthy scratches Sunday for “in-house” reasons and they he hopes they will learn from the issue and be active next week.
So, this was far from a normal Monday presser, but again at an unexpected 2-7, this is the Raiders’ current reality.
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