NFL Rumors: Josh McDaniels firing had a lot to do with the Patriots

The Las Vegas Raiders made the long overdue decision to fire Josh McDaniels on Nov. 1, ending his rocky 1.5-season stint with the franchise. Antonio Pierce, a former NFL player turned linebackers coach, was named the interim in McDaniels' stead.

The early results are difficult to dispute — Vegas trounced the Giants 30-6 on Sunday, with McDaniels little more than a memory. Players did not hide their pleasure with the news, openly celebrating McDaniels' departure in the locker room before the game. The difference in energy around the team is night and day.

Several factors precipitated McDaniels' departure. Of course, there was the simple matter of football. The Raiders were 3-5 with their postseason hopes quickly fading. McDaniels also held a team meeting last Thursday, during which coaches and players reportedly took turns "ripping" the beleaguered head coach.

It's clear McDaniels' hard-edged style did not sit well with players or assistants. But, the straw that broke the camel's back may have been McDaniels' unwavering loyalty to the New England Patriots, where he spent two decades under Bill Belichick.

According to NFL insider Jay Glazer, part of the Raiders' contentious team meeting involved Antonio Pierce recalling his time with the 2007 New York Giants, who toppled the undefeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. He cited the team's self-belief and dedication to the game plan, which the Raiders lacked.

"When Antonio Pierce got up there, he said, ‘Look guys, we have to have our own culture. It’s got to be about culture here. He brought up the old Giants team that beat the Patriots, Josh McDaniels’s team, in the Super Bowl in the 2007 season. He said, ‘No matter who we played, and we have a game plan, we can beat them. We’ve got to believe that. That’s not here. We’ve got to believe here with the Raiders that we can beat anybody."

After the meeting, McDaniels was allegedly upset with Pierce for disrespecting his Patriots team.

"Well, he finishes up that speech and everybody thinks they’re great, except for Josh McDaniels. Josh McDaniels then went over to him and said, ‘Don’t ever talk about the Patriots like that.’ Then, we really saw how divided that building got. That got up to Mark Davis, and Mark Davis said, ‘I’m going to choose the guy who believes that we can win every single week."

It would appear McDaniels' poor situational awareness ultimately killed the locker room. Pierce told a simple motivational tale rooted in his own experience, and McDaniels' pride got in the way. From there, Mark Davis' decision was easy.

Josh McDaniels' Patriots loyalty led to Raiders firing

The Raiders needed to make this move. The outward frustration of Davante Adams was only the tip of the iceberg, as evidenced by the recent wave of reporting about McDaniels' tenure with the Raiders. He ends his head coaching stint with a career record of 20-33. Nobody can deny McDaniels' success as Belichick's right-hand man in New England, but there's no reason to believe McDaniels has the temperament to adequately handle a head coaching job.

It will be interesting to see where McDaniels' career goes from here. Does he sulk back to the Patriots, where Belichick's squad is wallowing in the NFL basement? Does he get a different O.C. job? Or, has McDaniels ruined his reputation too thoroughly to get a job in the league. Maybe TV or some time away from the sport is in order.

There's no way to know for sure at this point, but one has to believe McDaniels won't be back in the head coach's seat for a long time — if ever.