Las Vegas Raiders fire Josh McDaniels, GM Dave Ziegler

Just more than a day after the Las Vegas Raiders fell to 3-5 in a Monday Night Football loss to the Detroit Lions, head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler have been fired, the team announced. Linebackers coach Antonio Pierce will reportedly be elevated into the interim head coaching role.

McDaniels was hired to be the Raiders head coach ahead of the 2022 season, in which he led the team to a 6-11 record. He finishes his Raiders head coaching tenure 9-16 in 25 games. Ziegler was hired alongside McDaniels — both coming from the New England Patriots.

“After much thought about what the Raiders need to move forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave. I want to thank them both for their hard work and wish them and their families nothing but the best,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement.

Ziegler was hired alongside McDaniels — both coming from the New England Patriots.

McDaniels is the first NFL coach to be fired this season, as is the case for Ziegler among general managers.

It is not the first time McDaniels has been promptly fired as a head coach. He was previously the head coach of the Denver Broncos for one-plus season, in 2009 and 2010. He went 8-8 in 2009 before being fired after 12 games and a 3-9 record in 2010.

McDaniels also nearly became the Indianapolis Colts head coach, but pulled out shortly after it was reported he was accepting the job.

Among many choices to have come under scrutiny during the McDaniels-Ziegler regime was the decision on Tuesday to not consider trading star receiver Davante Adams prior to the NFL trade deadline. Adams was visibly frustrated on the sideline after he was missed, repeatedly, while open downfield. He also partially wanted to come to the Raiders to play with former college teammate Derek Carr, who is now with the New Orleans Saints.

With a season quickly falling apart at the seams, the Raiders brass was widely questioned on Tuesday for yet another questionable call during their tenure in hanging on to Adams.

And now it will be up to Pierce and others to try to hold things together for nine more games. Prior to joining the Raiders staff, Pierce worked for Herm Edwards on staff at Arizona State, where he was a central figure in the NCAA investigation into violations around the Covid-19 dead period.