In their second year with Josh McDaniels as their head coach, the Las Vegas Raiders haven’t really taken any significant steps forward this season as they head into Week 8 with an underwhelming 3-4 record.
With more losses than wins this year, it’s safe to assume that the Raiders have been frustrated with the overall performance of their team this season.
Things have apparently reached a level that resulted in Las Vegas recently having a “passionate” team meeting, according to NFL ‘Media’s Tom Pelissero on Sunday (via Ian Rapoport on Twitter).
“Coach Josh McDaniels, I’m told, opened the floor in a team meeting on Thursday to players, allowing them to voice all the frustrations that, at times, have bubbled over publicly during the team’s 3-4 start.”
The Insiders on @NFLGameDay: The #Raiders held a passionate team meeting this week to clear the air; #AZCardinals QB Kyler Murray took some first-team reps this week; #Dolphins CB Jalen Ramsey is expected to debut for Miami today. pic.twitter.com/AOc5ibBbvW
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 29, 2023
While the Raiders are clearly unhappy with their start to the 2023 season, McDaniels letting his players vent their frustrations shows that the head coach might actually be evolving.
During his previous stint as a head coach with the Denver Broncos, McDaniels was known for doing things his own way, regardless of any sort of negative impact that his methods might have had on the players inside his locker room.
The old McDaniels might have just pointed fingers and ignored the complaints from the players on Las Vegas’ roster.
But the head coach seems to be taking a different approach, and it’s one that he hopes results in a positive outcome for the Raiders this season.
Las Vegas has actually been performing much better during the last few weeks than they were during the early portion of their schedule.
After losing three of their first four games this season, the Raiders have won two of their last three matchups, and they will attempt to get their record back to .500 on Monday night when they travel to take on the Detroit Lions.
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Jimmy Garoppolo Details How Raiders Can Turn Season Around