Josh McDaniels was broken after Raiders players begged him to change

The Josh McDaniels who arrived at Las Vegas Raiders practice on Oct. 26 was not the same coach that had been there a day before. 

McDaniels was “akin to a bystander” that day,” according to an NFL Network report, his change in demeanor stemming from an “intense” meeting he had held hours before in which players and coaches ripped into the then-head coach and begged him to change his ways.

Five days later, he would find himself out of a job as Raiders owner Mark Davis cleaned house of his head coach and general manager, Dave Ziegler. 

Among the issues that arose, according to the report, were his long team meetings, overcorrecting every mistake and the way he’d place the blame on the players for play-calling issues.

The comments clearly impacted McDaniels and that next practice he didn’t make corrections on plays, wanted players to self-correct and took a step back from handling every mistake, NFL Network reported.

He was even described as a “shell of himself,” while others reportedly sensed the end was coming. 

As the Raiders (3-5) continued to lose, Davis began meeting with players including Josh Jacobs, Davante Adams and other team leaders.

According to the report, a number of the issues that came up during that tense meeting with McDaniels had been discussed with Davis during those conversations. 

Davis fired McDaniels and Ziegler on Halloween night, a day after the Raiders’ listless lost to the Detroit Lions on “Monday Night Football.”

The Athletic reported the Raiders might have been in “the happiest locker room ever” after the firings.

Antonio Pierce was named interim coach and Champ Kelly was given the interim GM position. 

“Unfortunately, I had great hopes for Josh and Dave,” Davis told ESPN on Wednesday. “It just seemed we were going in the wrong direction. So, with the trade deadline, I just felt it was time to make a change, time to make a move.”

The decision to change directions seemed to reinvigorate the locker room, but it was a costly one for Davis. 

The move will cost Davis roughly $85 million, according to ESPN.

Pierce, the ex-Giant, benched quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for rookie Aidan O’Connell ahead of Sunday’s game against the Giants in Vegas.