A team meeting led to changes in Josh McDaniels’ behavior at practice before he was fired as Raiders HC

Sources described McDaniels as being much less involved than usual during that practice — similar to a bystander. He allowed plays to occur without correction, and hoped that the players would correct themselves and avoid stepping in to deal with every mistake. It was different from the way he had handled all previous practices during his tenure.

The players and coaches attacked him during the match. The goal of the session was to be open and honest to try to fix what went wrong with the then 3-4 Raiders team. Among the issues addressed: overcorrection, long meetings, and the ways in which McDaniels attempted to hold players accountable and blame players for issues with play-calling.

Sources say that the meeting apparently affected him negatively.

One source described McDaniels as a shell of himself.

Another source close to McDaniels described him during Thursday’s practice as someone who tries to listen to the players, not over-train, put on some music and let it play. McDaniels was trying to do what they asked during the meeting. But the inconsistency in his behavior was so stark that one attendee said he felt McDaniels wasn’t really there.

No one would blame McDaniels for taking seriously a blistering attack on his coaching from those he was asked to lead.

And while there were plays to be made during the 26-14 loss to the Lions — in particular, Jimmy Garoppolo twice missed a wide-open opportunity for Davante Adams for a potential long gain or touchdown in the second half — the results on that night amounted to a victory. themselves, and it’s only fair to conclude a week breaking down the practices that contributed to the performance.

The Raiders announced that McDaniels and Ziegler had been fired late Tuesday night. Offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi was also fired, and Garoppolo was benched Wednesday for rookie Aidan O’Connell. Assistant coach Bo Hardigree is the new play caller and team leader under interim coach Antonio Pierce.

A lot has changed in Las Vegas as Pierce and interim general manager Champ Kelly lead the Raiders into today’s game against the Giants. By all accounts, Pierce was a leader and gave the players a voice. The early returns are positive, with the hope that he can impact the Raiders in the short term, as someone like Dan Campbell, another fiery leader, impacted the Detroit Lions in the long term.

Meanwhile, several sources inside and outside the building weighed in on the various ways the McDaniels-Ziggler regime ended after less than two seasons: