In Hindsight, Raiders Made a Key Misstep After Jon Gruden Resigned

The Raiders have endured more than a few things go horribly this year. From an organizational standpoint, a lot of those circumstances were outside of their control.

But one mistake the Raiders seem to have made as an organization was the decision to elevate Rich Bisaccia to interim head coach after Jon Gruden stepped down.

By all accounts, Bisaccia is an amazing person. He’s an excellent special teams coach and after 20 years in the NFL, Bisaccia deserved an opportunity to be an NFL head coach. But in hindsight, it’s hard to make a case that he was the Raiders’ best in-house option to replace Gruden.

The Raiders played well during Bisaccia’s first two games as head coach, but the team has eroded in the six games since (with the Thanksgiving game being the one exception). Bisaccia has consistently been ultra-conservative in his decision-making and that’s why it wasn’t a surprise when he decided to kick a field goal from the 7 yard-line while trailing the Chiefs 35-0.

From the standpoint of game planning and clock management, it seems like Bisaccia has coached the Raiders with an unhealthy fear of making mistakes. And if he is ultra-conservative on Sundays, there’s no reason to think he hasn’t been the same through the week.

Even going back to his years as a college coach, Bisaccia has only ever been a position coach and considering how long he waited to get his first head-coaching gig, it may be that the stakes were simply too high for him.

But if not Bisaccia, who would have been the better options to coach the Raiders after Gruden?

Maybe Gus Bradley or Rod Marinelli.

Both Bradley and Marinelli have head-coaching experience and presumably would have been more prepared to handle the challenges that come with leading a locker room of professional coaches and players. It would have been hard for anyone to lead the Raiders with the same command as Gruden, but Bisaccia clearly wasn’t even close. The team lost any kind of identity over the last six weeks and at one point it sounds like ownership may have even become involved.

Warren Sharp on Twitter: “”I’m told the Raiders will re-emphasize the run game today. There’s been high-level communication throughout the organization about not getting the ball to Josh Jacobs enough” – @JasonLaCanfora / Twitter”

“I’m told the Raiders will re-emphasize the run game today. There’s been high-level communication throughout the organization about not getting the ball to Josh Jacobs enough” – @JasonLaCanfora

None of it matters now, but it’s fair to wonder how the season would have played out if the Raiders had gone in a different direction at head coach after Gruden left.

Unfortunately, Raiders’ owner Mark Davis now has no choice. The time has come to blow everything up again.

twitter: @raidersbeat

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68 thoughts on “In Hindsight, Raiders Made a Key Misstep After Jon Gruden Resigned

  1. I have told all of you since 2016 that Derek Carr isn’t the answer.They built the whole team around him for the past 3 years.Just 4 him 2 b a complete failure.8 years now he has failed
    SEND HIM HOME

    1. Carr has been putting up good numbers with a suspect offensive line and a tight end he made into a pro bowl receiver he never had a Tim Brown in his career

      1. Your blind to it … Carr isn’t the answer he is scared out there and it’s clear ! I had high hopes for him but he is just not a winner! All you Carr guys have is passing stats and completion percentage. He has played in a west coast offense his whole career witch is short dump off and short passing there for QBs in that offense are going to have high CP it’s a known fact ! Passing up n down the field then kicking FG don’t win games . Carr has the most passing yards of any Raiders QB but he has been Raiders QB longer then anyone els has . He also has more turnovers then any other QB in Raiders history! He has more fumbles then any player in Raiders history! 20 more fumbles then the next guy! He is in no way worth the 30-35 million a year he is going to be looking for! It’s time to move on from him and draft Dynamic QB ! Then someone will say who can Raiders get as QB ? We really will lose then. Well what we doing now with Carr? Yes he does not play D or special teams so it’s not all his fault. Witch is true but he can’t even beat KC to save his life and no matter what we do we have to be competitive in The AFC west . KC n LA have dynamic young QBs to lead them for years to come and we have a QB that plays scared and can’t win in our devision consistently and is closer to end of his career! After 60 years of being Raiders biggest fan I’ve seen winning n losing and I would rather see us start completely over then see them sign Carr again!

        1. Ok, so your theory is to waste a draft pick on a QB that we don’t need, in a draft with no good qbs, when we do need oline, wrs, rb, corners, and lbs 🤔. I think you’re not remembering all the crappy QBs we’ve had since 2001. We got McGloin off Craigslist for gods sake, lmaooo. All you guys want to get rid of one of the 4 good players we got, and have zero options to replace him. What good QB in their right mind would come play for this shtshow? No online so they are gonna get killed, no wrs to throw to, no run game to open up the crappy wrs, and a defense that allows 35 points a game. Yeah boy, that’s the team I want to play for, said NO starting NFL QBs 🤣

    2. I agree 💯 percent I’ve been saying we need a qb built like a truck not a carr doomed for a recall 2011 all over again searching for a coach and a qb

    3. Let’s see, no offensive line or wide receiver corps. Doesn’t sound like a team built around the quarterback to me.

      1. Amen , all of you that blame Carr for the many, many problems of the team are freakin delusional and don’t seem to understand common football concepts. sure go ahead and call for his head , and watch next year or when ever ownership or the next coaching staff capitulates yall will be the same bunch of fake fans gripping how we need a real qb six games into the next qbs tenure that we stick back there. Cuz dont lie to yourselves who ever replaces carr will be worse if not far worse to begin with . smfh!

        1. that’s dismissive to think you’re the only one who understands football. but one thing I will say is we need a QB who is big and mobile one who can scramble and make offense happen outside of a collapsed pocket. he is the most veteran player on the team he in a real subtle way plays a childish blame game. he throws passes behind receivers and on camera I’ve seen him scold them I’ve seen him do it multiple times he’s a short pass thrower that’s what he’s comfortable doing we need to cut ties with him and find a more mobile passer and I know there are some people who don’t want to here this but I’m going to say it maybe we should recruit a black QB and on another subject maybe after this season we should try to Eric Beinamy the offensive coordinator for the KC cheifs for our soon to be vacant head coach position. just my thoughts no disrespect meant.

          1. It’s really interesting that you consider Carr a short throw passer when he’s 4th in the league for throws of 20+ yards. Seems like the rest of the league loves throwing short passes too.

      2. We have good enough Receivers man that’s bull…. Yes the O line is weak and the D is not playing like they can and have this year! Carr has had top O lines n still lost . He has fumbled the ball more the not only any other QB in Raiders history but 20 times more then any player in Raiders history! That’s all on Carr no one Els ! He has more turnovers then any other Raider ever!!

    4. Stupid comment…it’s not Carrs fault..offensive line is not very good..losing Riggs hurt big time..need a new head coach who can motivate

    5. Jason, this is about coaching. Not quarterbacks. And yes,Mark Davis should’ve placed Tom Cable. That would’ve been the difference from being in last place right now to being in first place.

  2. I have personally bad mouthed Derek Carr every week sincev2016 FINALLY raider fans have realized its time 4 Carr to go

    1. It’s been time for Carr to go. He hasn’t been the same since he broke his leg. Hes not the only problem let’s keep it real defensively Raiders have been in the bottom 5 for years. We traded away one of the best defensive players in the league. We gave away Cooper,and Nelson as well. We Blew out draft picks with those dumb *** picks only one panned out well which is Mad Maxx. All of those picks we got for Mack and Cooper and blew them. Let’s be honest Gruden was a horrible decision. I mean what had he done as a head coach in the NFL that’s worth talking about. The team he took to the superbowl was Tony Dungy team. Then you pay this man 100 mil for what exactly. Our linebacker crew is garbage. CORY Littleton hasnt been good in ages. Why are we always only rushing 4 defensive linemen every dam play. We have no blitzing schemes at all on defense. Ruggs was our only deep threat. Hes gone of course. So to sum it all up it’s time to tear it all down and rebuild. I know it sucks cause we have been waiting for almost 20 years but we gotta hang in there. Lastly we did beat them Cowboys. 😊

  3. He can go play golf,and become a pature 4 his church,he should take the time to thank god for letting him get away with robbing the raiders

      1. Only a two sentence response….What an odd phonetic attempt at spelling “Pastor” But hey….Put me in charge of personnel.

    1. What do you do when your Carr is wrecked has too many miles on it, transmission is slipping and then it needs a new battery? You stop putting money into it and trade that hunk of junk in.

  4. Not rebuild but retool I like 77 92 29 52 and some of the other vets. Rich b. stands on the sideline and chews gum he don’t even talk into his Mike,he’s in over his head. Tom cable has head coaching experience. My choice would of been Gus Bradley but I heard he wants to fix the d. Whoever was chose was going to just finish the year. I would guess Bradley abd his guys stay and cable. Harbaugh or debo should be leading choices

    1. Good choice, this is a new Era called flag football. Real football dynasties no longer exist. No Tatums, Ben Davis. Howie Long, Lester Hayes. Mike Haynes. Etc. It’s football if today’s QB’s played in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s they would never survive.

  5. Well, Davis can blow things up, AGAIN, but in reality he needs to look straight into the mirror because this mess of a franchise is HIS creation. The man has no clue on how to run a team, successfully. Giving an outdated coach a ridiculous 100million dollar guaranteed contract PLUS full control of the team simply points to a desperation move. At best, it was a HUGE gamble because WHEN had Gruden ever proven himself a team builder. NEVER, that’s when. Mark sell the team. You suck.

    1. No truer words have ever been spoken than yours my man. You and I are totally in sync on all points you made.

    2. I have been saying those words for 3 yrs. Davis is an incompetent idiot who should never have been given a free NFL team to run into the ground. The NFL needs to take the team away from him on the grounds that he is “Staining the Shield”. The Raiders have no one smart enuf in this organization to even BEGIN to figure out how to turn this Cluster around, and they will continue to SUCK until little baby davis is removed.

  6. Sell the team for Christ’s sake
    I cannot believe there are professionals getting paid to put this **** show together for more than 20 years
    The Steelers have had 3 coaches in 45 years
    It is amazing how inept this organization is
    I’m available to make personnel decisions and I have no idea what I’m doing. What’s their excuse.

    1. Whoever think that getting rid of Carr is the answer need to get their heads check. Carr is not problem. You have terrible offensive line. You don’t any weapons or no one who can get open other than Hunter Renfrow or Darren Waller. The defense is not good. How many times the Chiefs were in third and 17 or 18 and end up making it. I think those who hate Derek Carr need to keep their feelings in check and look at the whole team. You have a quarterback who passing for 4000 yards with a horrible offense line and no deep threat in the lineup

      1. Your fooling yourself my friend Carr is a loser and it’s plane n simple! He is scared after breaking his leg and back and it’s like his own friend said ( Joey Bosa) hit Carr n he pays scared! He is NEVER going to lead Our team to respectability again! Fact ! He is in no way worth the 30-35 million they say he will want! No way shape or form!

  7. Very well put. Coach B is way too conservative. He’s a coach trying to keep his job but clearly he is not head coach material. He hasn’t implemented anything new to help the team win. He lacks preparation skills making the team one dimensional and predictable. Offensive coach is no better because he also has been afraid to hurt Carrs feelings, therefore Marriota sits on the sidelines.

  8. Feels like we are headed down the 5 coaches in 5 years again. Gruden brought leadership and long term plan. He had the teams respect, I don’t see that now. The NFL has a hard on for the Raiders since Al told them to pound turf. It is one of the reasons I am a 47 year Raider fan.

      1. Was born the year 1961 Raiders where and was 7 when madden became HC seen the good yrs n the bad…last 20 yrs . I am just saying Carr is not a winner and he is not worth 30-35 million a year it’s time to move on from him

  9. Right…we have to look at all our offensive play-calling, HC, OC, blocking schemes, strategies, clock understanding..Red zone scoring Tds, shore up the downfield middle coverage…Not Perryman…but #42 bad choice, Dbs take a chance and intercepting the ball…imagine if the NFL let you run up the score…respect the brand…

  10. BS… it has NOTHING TO DO w Coach B or the running game. I feel sorry for the coach… what a horrible position to be thrust into, under insane circumstances and then have to deal with Ruggs, Arnette drama weeks later?
    The. Raiders. Are. Pathetic.
    The entire organization is a joke… starting with the f*****ng owner. Been a fan since 1975… can’t do it anymore… even if the team WAS GOOD… the NFL will NEVER allow the Raiders to win with a Davis at the helm!

      1. Good glad your gone we don’t need fans like you anyway! Been a fan 60 years and always will be. Win lose or tie Raiders tell I die

  11. When gruden was here Carr was the leading passer in the nfl. The nfl made sure to get rid of him so now the attention to detail is not there. The raiders need to hire Harbaugh he will right the ship and straighten the organization. Olsen and Bradley are bad. Mayock needs to fix the o line instead of signing Carlson. Mullen is awful. I can be the gm and do a better job. Unfortunately I don’t know anyone to help me get in the raiders organization

  12. John Gruden and Henry Ruggs have put a damper on this organization. Everyone here want to blame DC. It’s the whole team and organization. DC. Don’t be scared to point fingers. The problems both lie on both sides of the ball. Twenty years. One playoff appearance. Not a guarantee to win out. Another year. Another rebuild.

  13. Every time the Raidee have a pro Bowler they trade or let him go. It’s why I don’t buy a Raider jersey

  14. Derek Carr is 53 wins with 69 losses for his career! In his eighth season now — he’s NEVER even appeared in a playoff game, much less won one. He has great stats, but as Bill Belichick says: “Stats are for losers. Winners look at the final score.” 53-70 Career W/L record???

    Which category do you think Carr is in? AND, as a bonus, Carr leads the NFL in fumbles lost since he entered the league.

    1. Raiders were 53 and 123 before carr arrived, so they are much improved with him at qb. Maybe you prefer jamarcus, kyle boller, jason campbell, terrelle pryilor, gradkowski or matt mcgloin. We had 11 years of terrible qb play before carr arrived.

  15. The Raiders have sucked for longer than the old time loser teams have sucked. (Browns, Saints, Buccaneers, etc.) The Raiders are the bottom dwellers of the NFL. I’m glad they moved away. And this time, Raiders, don’t come back. Las Vegas can have them.

  16. Hey Nation gals guys! I think Mariota should have been given the chance as soon as we started to put the same fading act we have been pulling for the last few years just to shake things up a bit. Soon as we got 6 games in we should have made a switch because that’s always when the wheels start falling off. We are headed for an even worse record than we have had the last few years. We make changes at everything else why not at QB?? Just sayin

  17. Been a Raiders since Rauch was the head coach and Lamonica was the QB. They didn’t trade the mad bomber because they couldn’t win the big one. No they fired John Rauch, replaced him with Madden in 1969 and continued to choke in the big ones. It wasn’t until the snake Stabler until Madden got his only SB ring in 1976. Lamonica. Stabler where great QB’s. Idiots, Derek Carr is in that same category: Derek Carr is at the top of nearly every career passing statistic in the Raiders’ record book. Passing yards (30,310), touchdowns (187), and completions (2,746) – no quarterback in the history of the organization has more.

  18. I agree 💯 percent I’ve been saying we need a qb built like a truck not a carr doomed for a recall 2011 all over again searching for a coach and a qb

  19. Get rid of Carr. Why doesn’t he use Desean Jackson more. Throws to one player, makes bad calls. I hope Mr. Davis calls on Tony Dungy and maybe Russell Wilson, and even Peyton Manning for head coach. Russell Wilson would fit in as QB.

  20. Rai Dah fans have to DUMB…
    We don’t have an off line…
    No receivers…
    Can anybody tell me how many of the draft picks from trading Mack away we have…
    How many are her from two years ago…
    Yes Carr is the most visable player …
    Where’s the game plan…
    This entire team SUCKS starting with gm coaches n most players…

  21. This *** hat clown Mark Davis should sell the team to Someone who knows football cuz obviously he doesn’t . Please,please , please for the love of all that is sacred in raider nation. This **** show is beyond embarrassing!!!

  22. Tom Cable. If he gets the head coaching job, I’m sure all of these negative posts will vanish like the losses on the field.

  23. We had a fantastic offensive line prior to this year and still couldn’t make the playoffs. Coaching and leadership is the biggest problem. To many excuses. Carr is a good QB but inconsistent. He panics in the pocket and dumps off to the running backs to often. Hasn’t been the same since breaking his ankle. Time to move on.

  24. well let’s look at it what gets me is how the cheifs keep getting all these free agent that we should be attracting nobody wants to be a raider anymore there’s a reason for that. Mark Davis still runs the raiders dysfunctionally just like his dad. Players want security in glory the raiders don’t have any Glory left take their scouting department take him out back and put a bullet in their terrible

  25. Ok. Exhale now. We need to take a breath here. Let’s look at the offensive line. They are terrible on the right side, not even Tom or Russel can play behind this line. Can’t block or run block then why do you have a job? The d line outside of the ends can’t pass rush and have a hard time stopping the run. Our strong safety sucks in coverage and we have some suspect corners not named Haywood and Mullen. Least we got Mate. When wad the last time we had a punt return for a touchdown or even a kick return for a touch down. Must saying. We need better coaches.

  26. Hello to all of you so called Raiders fans well apparently most of you don’t know a thing about football 🏈 well anyway it all starts at the top just like anything else so we need to start there just like rebuilding a car 🚗 or remodeling a house 🏡 you have to get to the bones first and build up from there so first things first starting with ownership and building from there

  27. This is all Gruden and Mayock’s Fault. They drafted Kolton Miller and should have taken Derwin James. They drafted Clelin Ferrell and should have taken Devin White, then they could have taken Montez Sweat and still got josh Jacobs or get AJ Brown or Metcalf instead. You would still probably take Ruggs, I thought that was a good pick, but instead of taking Arnett, you take Justin Jefferson. Now you have ruggs and Jefferson. Maybe ruggs does not get into trouble because he is competing with Jefferson to be the best receiver on the Raiders. Try to blitz carr with Ruggs and Jefferson. GRUDEN and Mayock sucked at the Draft and that is why the Raiders Suck today!

  28. Well I have a few things to say about all the shi* talkers of Derek Carr!!! I would like to see all of you try and put that number 4 jersey on and you go out there and try to even win 1 game bet yet play 1 actual NFL snap and see how much shi* talking dumb AS* people bash you for how badly you suck I bet my LIFE you wouldn’t want to be talking anymore crap on Derek Carr I give him the most respect of any QB in the league right now because if we get a W or L he’s still 💯 in his heart say that no matter what happened in the game he takes responsibility on everything how many QB’s do that nobody QB does that this man is 208 yards behind Tom Punk AS* Brady TUCK RULE PIECE OF CRA* for the most passing yards this year. You all need to put your big boy pants on and stop being like all the COWBOY FANS out there crying every chance you get if you are a TRUE RAIDERS FAN start supporting our QB -Derek Carr!!!!!!!!!!!!
    PS for the fans that can’t spell you need to stop posting period maybe you guys got knocked around a lot when you were playing pee-wee football just saying………..
    RAIDER NATION TILL I DIE THROUGH THE GOOD AND THE BAD OR IF YOU GUYS LIKE THROUGH THE BAD TO THE GOOD THATS HIW I SEE IT IM ALWAY PROUD TO SHOW MY RAIDER LOVE EVERYDAY I WEAR MY JERSEY NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!!!

  29. DC is not the total problem, I agree. Any team with 5 turnovers is not gonna win even against high school team. Hopefully clean house in management and coaching staff. But for the life of me why not bring in MM in the redzone. He has proven to be beneficial in the redzone when he was used. The HC could of mixed things up with him but keeps the same game plan. Makes it easy for defense to know w.o. changes. Ive been a raider for 40 yrs., heart breaking to watch the chiefs make a mockery of them. Come on Mark, make some bold moves.

  30. Last time I checked if you can’t block tackle and catch consistently you remain the Raiders not a solid football team!!!

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