Raiders Officially Fire Coach Josh McDaniels, GM Dave Ziegler Midseason

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The Raiders have officially cut ties with head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler following the team’s 3-5 start.

The decision was confirmed by the team in an announcement today.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders are set to make linebacker coach Antonio Pierce as their interim head coach. Pierce was a former Pro Bowler with the Giants during his playing career.

Raiders’ owner Mark Davis informed key members of the organization about the decision on Tuesday. Davis is now the first NFL owner this season to make such a significant move by firing both the head coach and general manager.

McDaniels and Ziegler, who joined the Raiders from the Patriots last season, took over for a playoff team and made several big changes during their tenure. One of their biggest decisions was benching and eventually cutting franchise quarterback Derek Carr last year.

McDaniels previously faced a similar situation with the Broncos in 2010, has a history of controversial quarterback trades, having dealt away Jay Cutler in Denver and Carr in Las Vegas.

McDaniels was fired from the Broncos in 2010 after losing 17 of his 28 games there. McDaniels has now been fired from the Raiders after losing 16 of his 25 games.

The Raiders had invested in McDaniels by giving him a six-year contract in January 2022, leaving the organization with financial obligations despite his departure.

Mark Davis now needs to find new leaders as the Raiders start over another rebuild.