The departure of offensive line coach Carmen Briscillo was the first (big) domino to fall.
The Las Vegas Raiders would be wise to get rid of the rest of the team and rid the team of any remnants of the previous regime’s offensive coaching staff. Let’s get to the point. Newly named permanent head coach Antonio Pierce’s main task will be overhauling the Silver & Black’s offense. It’s a necessity, not a nice thing. This means cleaning house at the offensive coordinator position.
Former player and coach Josh McDaniels has passed away. His offensive coordinator, Mick Lombardi, was also fired. And starting quarterback Bo Hardegry (who was named quarterbacks coach) stepped in as interim OC. Unsurprisingly, recruiting new players has had mixed results.However, this is no outright disrespect to Hardegree. The 39-year-old dealt with play calls, hits and bruises while appearing in nine games as interim offensive coordinator.
In particular, rookie fourth-round pick Aidan O’Connell started. The combination of two rookies in the playmaking and signal-calling roles (arguably the two most important spots on offense) isn’t ideal, but that’s exactly the situation both Hardegry and O’Connell faced when Raiders owner Mark Davis , made the call. made. Look for the trio of McDaniels, Lombardi and general manager Dave Ziegler.
The Las Vegas offense improved with both Hardegry and O’Connell taking over the keys. This cannot be denied. In McDaniels’ eight games, the Raiders scored a total of 126 points. Minus Marcus Peters’ six, the offense totaled 119, led by McDaniels at 14.87. The team has scored a total of 206 points in its last nine games in Las Vegas.
Subtract Jack Jones’ two interception returns and John Jenkins’ 44-yard punt return for a touchdown, and it drops to 185. That’s a 20.55-point average under Hardegree’s control. Of course, those numbers and averages rose significantly when he scored a team-high 63 points against the Los Angeles Chargers, who waved the white flag and put so-called “defensive genius” coach Brandon Staley on the field. I am responsible for the accident.
Add in the fact that Brian Flores’ Minnesota Vikings defense completely shut down Hardgrey’s offense in a 3-0 shutout of the Silver and Black and things start to even out. The Raiders were content to deal with growing pains with Hardegry and O’Connell last season. The team revealed that they had no choice but to go with the duo after the previous regime was dismissed.
