For the second time in his head coaching ventures, former Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels has been fired, this time by the Las Vegas Raiders.
McDaniels only had nine wins in less than two seasons with the Raiders, two wins shy of his Denver tenure. According to ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez, McDaniels now has the dubious distinction of being the first non-interim coach in NFL history to be fired by two different franchises before the end of his second season.
McDaniels’ tenure as a Bronco began with his first draft class bringing in Tim Tebow and the late Demaryius Thomas. The team started 6-0 in his first season. Thomas went on to be a Pro Bowl receiver, and Tebow led the Broncos to a miracle late-season playoff run that culminated in a wild-card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
McDaniels’ career in Denver was just as quick as the beginning. After a mid-season overseas game versus the San Francisco 49ers, it was discovered that a Broncos coach filmed 49er practices, eerily reminiscent of McDaniels’ mentor Bill Belichick’s “SpyGate” scandal. After “McSpyGate,” his coaching tenure came to an ignominious end, and McDaniels is widely considered one of the worst coaches in franchise history.
This season, the Raiders turned to veteran quarterback and McDaniels disciple Jimmy Garoppolo to right the ship after the departure of Derek Carr in the offseason. After a 3-5 start, McDaniels was deemed to have done his damage, and promptly fired by Raiders owner Mark Davis.
Will McDaniels ever find another head coaching job in the NFL? This writer highly doubts it!
