Josh McDaniels Reportedly Was Trashed By Raiders Players Before Antonio Pierce Said The Team Needed To Unite Like The 2007 Giants When They Beat The 18-0 Patriots, Which Caused McDaniels To Yell At Pierce And Ultimately Led To His Firing
Before firing Josh McDaniels, the Raiders had a team meeting where players directed their frustrations at McDaniels, and unloaded on him.
McDaniels had Antonio Pierce speak on his behalf, and Pierce brought up the Giants' '07 team that beat the undefeated Patriots, explaining how that team believed they could beat anyone. Pierce said the Raiders need that mindset.
The players all loved it, but McDaniels didn't.
McDaniels told Pierce when everyone left: "Don't ever talk about the Patriots like that."
That's when everyone saw how divided the building was, and owner Mark Davis wanted Pierce as his HC. (via @JayGlazeron FOX)
You know what? I'm gonna chalk this up as the final Giants victory over Josh McDaniels. The other two that everyone talks about ended with a Lombardi Trophy being raised, which were the two best days in my life as a sports fan. But this one is objectively the most hilarious since you know Josh McDaniels still has nightmares of Giants defenders ending his season. Tom Brady knows what I'm talking about.
Damian Strohmeyer. Getty Images.
Roy Dabner. Shutterstock Images.
MCT. Getty Images.Now usually I would call bullshit about a reported story of an entire team taking turns burying their head coach like he was Bud Kilmer in Varsity Blues. But considering this is about the Raiders, who have been an on-and-off clown show for years and Josh McDaniels, who seems like the most unlikable coach in the entire NFL, I would honestly be surprised if something like this hadn't already happened. Plus my guy Jay Glazer doesn't miss (unless you count that one time he claimed to have the biggest NFL story ever and it was an offensive lineman getting COVID like seemingly half of America did).
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Now to be clear, I don't blame McDaniels for protecting The Wall at all costs like The Brady Four because I'm pretty sure the HC of the NEP is the only person that will consider hiring McDaniels if he wants to return to coaching whenever he is done cashing in the big fat severance Mark Davis is paying him. In fact after reading Old Balls' blog about the Foxboro connection, I'm pretty sure McDaniels would've taken the Al Davis torch and burnt down the Death Star known as Allegiant Stadium if Bill Belichick kindly asked, which I imagine would've taken place like this scene from Empire.
I would also like to clarify that while this entertained me as a football fan, it terrified me as a Giants fan. Not only because the Raiders were going to be powered by the Interim Coach Bump that every NFL team seems to get (most infamously when Jeff Saturday and the Colts beat Josh McDaniels' Raiders). But also because the Raiders seemed like the happiest and loosest team on the planet after firing someone as unlikable as McDaniels for someone infinitely more cooler like Antonio Pierce, who just so happens to be a Giants legend in his own right.
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God fucking dammit. The Giants may have won the war and the second war against Josh McDaniels. But it seems like he was as responsible for the Raiders winning Sunday's battle against Big Blue as Daniel Jones' injured knee. Then again, there are probably more Giants fans that wanted the team to lose so it gives the team a better draft pick, so maybe the jokes on Josh as usual.
Nonetheless, all of this is hilarious and I thank God the Raiders exist because stories like this will continue to happen as long as there is a Davis in charge. Just Win Baby, or at the very least create some sort of hilarious headlines. Now hit their motherfucking music!!!