The past two decades have been a tough slog for the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders have not won a playoff game since making three straight playoff appearances at the turn of the century, culminating in a Super Bowl XXXVII loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in January 2003.
The late Al Davis is still the face of the franchise posthumously, but Mark Davis has been the controlling owner since his father’s death in October 2011. Under Mark Davis, the Raiders have hired and fired six head coaches and made the playoffs twice (2016, 2021), losing in the AFC Wild Card both times.
According to a newly published The Athletic report into Jon Gruden’s “disastrous” head-coaching tenure from 2018-21, several ex-Raiders staffers blame Davis for the franchise’s ongoing dysfunction and underperformance.
“He has no idea what he’s doing,” a former Raiders staffer told Zak Keefer for the piece. “He thinks just like a fan.”
Keefer reported that unnamed former employees called Davis “as hands-off as they come,” noting that Davis “slept in most mornings” and was never involved in personnel decisions.
Another former Raiders staffer piled on: “In a way, he’s great to work for because he lets you do your thing. But he’s nothing like his dad. He doesn’t know anything football. ‘Oh, my dad liked fast guys? Where are all the fast guys?’ […] It was all about The Raider Way. That thinking is so archaic. It’s not even relevant anymore. They gotta be good football players, too.”
An unnamed source said that former Raiders head coaches Pete Carroll and Antonio Pierce were “given a [expletive] roster,” and “the underlying issue is that Mark has never really respected the GM position.” The source pointed out that Davis admittedly leaned on minority owner Tom Brady in the process of hiring general manager John Spytek.
The Raiders could flip the franchise’s fortunes if former Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza turns out to be a star. Las Vegas is universally expected to draft the Heisman winner with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft on April 23.
Las Vegas hired former Seattle Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak as head coach after the Seahawks won Super Bowl LX in February. The Raiders signed veteran free-agent quarterback Kirk Cousins last week, presumably to mentor Mendoza.
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