Why Was Josh McDaniels Fired? Antonio Pierce Makes Honest Admission!

Linebacker’s coach Antonio Pierce stood right next to head coach Josh McDaniels when the Las Vegas Raiders players confronted him for the team’s poor start to the 2023 season. Pierce realized the players were angry by the constant losses and wanted the coaches to take accountability for failing to steer the situation in the right direction.

McDaniels’ first season in Vegas ended with a 6-11 record. Later, the Raiders allowed longtime quarterback Derek Carr to join the Saints. To regain control of the locker room, owner Mark Davis approved the signing of veteran Jimmy Garoppolo.

Jimmy G was an old protégé of McDaniels from his time at the New England Patriots. However, there were concerns about his health, but he recovered enough to start the year 3-3 before ending up in IR.

Rookie Aidan O’Connell and veteran Brian Hoyer shared snaps against the Raiders in the week seven game away at the Chicago Bears. The Bears fielded undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent as Justin Fields was injured and had to adjust with second-string players in the offensive line.

Bagent threw 21 completions for 162 yards and 1 passing touchdown to win the game 30-12 for the Bears. The loss broke the Raiders because they were favored to win against their NFC counterpart.

Near the end of October, McDaniels and Pierce held an open discussion with the players to pinpoint the areas they must improve to save their season. It backfired on McDaniels because the players completely unloaded on him.

Antonio Pierce said this while appearing on the Pivot podcast:

[McDaniels] walked into the room, and he did exactly. He started off doing and then that sh** blew up. Boom!!! I was like ‘OH! MY GOD!!! And I have never heard players talk about coaches like that, about each other like that. So direct so bluntly honest. It was so neat, it was so much built up [emotion] amongst the players that they had to release it.

Wild: Former Raiders HC Antonio Pierce reveals the untold story of what led to Josh McDaniels's firing and how he became the Interim Head Coach.

“I’ve never heard players talk about coaches like that, like players like that, so bluntly honest.”

AP is such a good storyteller… pic.twitter.com/76alg7e8To

— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) May 26, 2025

What happened to Josh McDaniels?

The situation was tense. McDaniels didn’t object to anything that the players said in the meeting. He let Pierce take over because he was better suited to handle the situation.

Pierce was a former Super Bowl winner and understood the assignment, but the players were genuinely upset with the team’s direction in the league. They demanded a swift reaction from Mark Davis, who was reportedly in the room.

According to eyewitnesses, McDaniels was very quiet the week leading up to the Detroit Lions game after the eye-opening locker room spat. The Raiders lost 26-14 on October 30th and subsequently fired a day later.

Mark Davis announced the following statement on the Raiders website:

After much thought about what the Raiders need to move forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave [general manager Dave Zigler]. I want to thank them both for their hard work and wish them and their families nothing but the best.

Davis appointed Pierce as the interim head coach. Pierce’s title changed from temporary to permanent coach after the Raiders finished 8-9 and narrowly missed the playoffs.

However, the former Commanders and Giants LB’s tenure as the head coach was short-lived. He let Garoppolo leave and brought in Gardner Minshew to take over as the starter. Minshew and O’Connell took turns throughout the year, but the Raiders regressed, and Pierce was fired for finishing his first full season as head coach with a 4-13 record.

Pierce is currently a free agent, while McDaniels returned to his alma mater. New Patriots coach Mike Vrabel rehired McDaniels as the team’s offensive coordinator as they prepare to take back their AFC crown.

The Raiders, on the other hand, went through a complete overhaul at the start of 2025. Minority owner Tom Brady persuaded Pete Carroll out of retirement to fill the vacant head coach position. Brady played a big hand in bringing John Spytek in as the new GM from his former team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Brady reunited Carroll with his old Seahawks quarterback, Geno Smith, and drafted exciting running back Ashton Jeanty sixth overall in the draft. The Raiders play against the Seahawks in their first preseason game. They open their season against McDaniels’ Patriots in New England on September 7.

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