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Raiders Rumors: Josh McDaniels, Dave Ziegler Expected to Be Hired by Las Vegas
January 29, 2022
The Las Vegas Raiders are expected to bring aboard New England Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler and Pats offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as their next general manager and head coach, respectively.
Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network broke the news: "McDaniels is having dinner with the Raiders' leadership team on Friday night, according to sources. He is expected to be hired along with Ziegler within the next few days."
The 45-year-old McDaniels has spent 18 of the last 21 seasons with the Patriots. He took the Denver Broncos' head coaching job following the 2008 campaign, but he was fired in his second season following a 3-9 start.
He worked as the then-St. Louis Rams' offensive coordinator in 2011 before returning to New England, where he's won six Super Bowl rings.
The 44-year-old Ziegler worked for the Broncos' scouting department for three seasons before joining the Pats in 2013. He's worked in a variety of roles for the Pats, including as assistant director of pro scouting, director of pro personnel and assistant director of player personnel.
McDaniels agreed to become the Indianapolis Colts' head coach during the 2018 offseason, but he notoriously backed out at the last minute.
It appears a job with the Raiders is more palatable for McDaniels, whose offense finished sixth in scoring in 2021.
Last offseason, New England overhauled its offensive personnel and handed the keys to rookie quarterback Mac Jones. Despite all of the changes, the offense jelled, and the team scored 462 points en route to an AFC Wild Card berth.
That performance made McDaniels a name to watch in this year's coaching cycle yet again, though he reportedly didn't want to waste his time in the interview process:
"McDaniels informed the Raiders that he wouldn’t accept their interview request unless he was being offered the job, per sources. And the Raiders told McDaniels that if and when he was offered the position, he needed to be prepared to accept. Sources emphasized that all parties are on the same page, including McDaniels, Ziegler, Raiders owner Mark Davis, and team president Dan Ventrelle."
Should McDaniels officially get the job, he will replace interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who led the team to an AFC Wild Card appearance after guiding the Silver and Black to a 7-5 mark down the stretch.
Bisaccia took over for Jon Gruden, who resigned in October after emails surfaced in which he used racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language.
After the Raiders lost 26-19 to the Cincinnati Bengals in the playoffs, the organization parted ways with general manager Mike Mayo
It appears McDaniels and Ziegler will now head West, meaning that rumors connecting University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh to the Raiders job will not come to fruition.
Las Vegas is coming off a 10-7 season and its first playoff appearance since 2016. The Silver and Black are looking for their first playoff victory since 2002, when they won the AFC.