Raiders Fire Top Assistant Coach Following Broncos Debacle: Report
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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Pete Carroll.
The Las Vegas Raiders have been holding firm despite a rough start to the season, but after a brutal Week 10 loss to the Denver Broncos in primetime, the team had to make a move. One of the few assistant coaches who kept his job from the previous regime was special teams coordinator Tom McMahon.
So far, the Raiders’ special teams have been awful. The team had a punt blocked against the Broncos and multiple penalties. That’s not to mention that kicker Daniel Carlson has regressed this year. It wasn’t the first game that the special teams have struggled.
The Raiders had to make some kind of change amid their 2-7 start. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the team has decided to fire McMahon.
The #Raiders have fired Special Teams Coordinator Tom McMahon, per me and @TomPelissero.
A significant move after last night’s loss. McMahon and coach Pete Carroll had words on the sidelines.
This shouldn’t be a surprise. McMahon wasn’t one of Pete Carroll’s guys coming into the year, as he was originally hired during the Josh McDaniels regime. Special teams haven’t been too much of a talking point during his tenure until this season, but it’s clear the Raiders had to make a change.
The team isn’t doing much of anything right, but they can’t afford to let special teams keep making things more difficult than they need to be.
Chip Kelly Officially on Hot Seat
It’s somewhat of a surprise that McMahon was the first coach on the Raiders’ staff to get fired this year. Offensive coordinator Chip Kelly is the one that many want to see get let go. Las Vegas is averaging 15.4 points a game, which is third-worst in the NFL.
While the team doesn’t have elite personnel, they should be better than last year’s group, which averaged 18.2 points a game. The fact that Kelly can’t outperform Luke Getsy, who was fired during last season, is a big problem.
The Raiders may simply be stuck with him for now due to his huge contract. It’s not like the team is going to make a playoff run. Regardless, Kelly has the next hottest seat on the coaching staff. He simply hasn’t performed to the level that the team expected when they made him the highest-paid coordinator in the NFL.
Will Raiders Start Over in Offseason?
The Raiders have been cycling through so many head coaches in recent years, and there’s no doubt that owner Mark Davis just wants to find the right guy. At this point, it’s fair to question if the game has passed Carroll by.
He was once a great coach, but he’s 74 now. The Raiders need to rebuild the roster, so having the oldest head coach in NFL history doesn’t make a lot of sense.
General manager John Spytek could have the chance to keep his job, but it might be best if the Raiders and Carroll mutually decide to part ways. It’s hard to imagine that this season has been very fun for Carroll, who thought the team had a chance to compete this year.
It’s still most likely that Carroll gets another season, but it’s hard to rule anything out with this Raiders franchise while Davis is in charge.
Jets Avoid Serious QB Injury Scare Before Browns Game
There won’t be any quarterback injury drama this week for the New York Jets.
Gang Green revealed the final injury report ahead of the Week 10 Cleveland Browns clash. Tyrod Taylor didn’t receive an injury designation after being a full participant in practice all week.
In other words, he is cleared for takeoff. Taylor hurt his surgically repaired knee during the Week 7 contest against the Carolina Panthers. That injury forced him to miss the Week 8 game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Bullet Dodged for the Jets
In Week 7, Justin Fields played so poorly that head coach Aaron Glenn benched him at halftime for Taylor.
Heading into Week 8, all signs pointed to Taylor taking over as the starting quarterback. However, Taylor’s knee injury was more serious than the team let on; he got ruled out and didn’t make the trip, and they were forced to go back to Fields.
It worked out just the way they drew it up.
Fields had one of his best games of the season and delivered the Jets their first win of the year.
The former Ohio State product went 21-of-32 for 244 passing yards and threw a passing touchdown, and didn’t turn the ball over.
During the bye week, the Jets worked out multiple veteran quarterbacks. That raised eyebrows on social media. Was this just due diligence? Or was that a sign that Taylor could miss more time?
Apparently, it was just due diligence, because Taylor got a clean bill of health from the Jets’ medical people.
QB Decision Is up to Aaron Glenn
In Week 8, Coach Glenn didn’t have to make a QB decision — it was made for him. Taylor wasn’t available, so he had no other choice but to turn back to Fields.
In Week 10, that isn’t the case. Taylor and Fields are both healthy and ready to go. So, who will start at quarterback on Sunday?
“We will have a quarterback,” head coach Aaron Glenn confirmed on Friday, November 7. “We will have a quarterback.”
A media member asked if Coach Glenn would like to reach a point this season where he has a set quarterback, and thus that question doesn’t have to linger on a week-to-week basis.
“Well, the thing is that I don’t worry about those things. Our guys know who is going to be the quarterback, I know who is going to be the quarterback, it’s just not my responsibility to have to tell you that,” Coach Glenn explained.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini said on social media, “Obviously, Fields is expected to get the nod.”
Let’s Get Real About This Supposed ‘QB Drama’
Coach Glenn’s refusal to name his starting quarterback publicly has created quite a stir on social media.
“The thing about the Aaron Glenn QB press conferences is that Glenn could just confirm Fields is starting, like a professional,” Andrew Marchand of The Athletic responded on X previously Twitter.
“Reporters ask questions that may be obvious because it’s not correct to assume anything. So you ask who the QB will be. At the end of the day it’s always W-L, but Glenn made a mundane Zoom a little spectacle and he could’ve just been professional,” Marchand added.
The thing about the Aaron Glenn QB press conferences is that Glenn could just confirm Fields is starting, like a professional
If Coach Glenn thinks he gets any sort of tactical advantage from not announcing who his starting quarterback is — God bless.
Not sure why it creates such a fuss online. Glenn certainly isn’t the first coach to play games with the media, and spoiler alert, he won’t be the last.
This feels like a much ado about nothing scenario.
