Davis: Raiders were heading in 'wrong direction'

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis set himself a deadline of Oct. 31 to decide whether to make a change at both the head coach and general manager positions.

With the trade deadline approaching, Davis felt it was time to make a change, dismissing both Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler amid a 3-5 start and less than two seasons into their tenures.

"Unfortunately, I had great hopes for Josh and Dave," Davis told ESPN's Paul Gutierrez on Wednesday. "It just seemed we were going in the wrong direction."

Davis made the move after Las Vegas suffered a 26-14 defeat to the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football in Week 8. The week prior, the Raiders lost 30-12 to the Chicago Bears, who started undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent.

The poor results were emblematic of McDaniels' and Ziegler's tenures with the Silver and Black following their arrival from the New England Patriots in 2022. Davis was enamored with McDaniels, whose success with New England included six Super Bowl titles as an offensive coordinator. However, McDaniels struggled to establish a winning culture upon being hired. The duo finished with a 9-16 record in Las Vegas after both signed six-year contracts.

Las Vegas tabbed linebackers coach Antonio Pierce as the interim head coach and assistant GM Champ Kelly as the interim general manager. Davis says he chose Pierce over "several qualified candidates" on the team's staff.

Davis admits he's "intrigued" by Pierce's bio and believes the former Pro Bowl linebacker brings a "fresh approach." The Raiders owner would like to see Pierce "lead, not necessarily coach" while delegating to coordinators and position coaches.

"That's not to say I don't want him to coach now, but he understands the culture of the Raiders, and that's important to me," Davis said about his interim coach.

Las Vegas will turn to some new faces ahead of its Week 9 matchup against the New York Giants. Quarterbacks coach Bo Hardegree was named the new offensive coordinator and play-caller after the club parted ways with OC Mick Lombardi.

Hardegree will be communicating with a new starting quarterback Sunday, as Aidan O'Connell will get the nod after the team benched Jimmy Garoppolo.

Davis isn't sure what he'll see from the team following a major in-season shake-up.

"My job, my role is to give them all the tools possible for them to succeed," he said.