The Raiders have played been one of the most disciplined and hardest-playing teams in the NFL through the first four weeks, but they might have a little added motivation on Sunday.
Beating the Patriots has meant a lot to Raider fans since January 19, 2002, but former Raider mauler Richie Incognito said a few players on the field this week are going to have a little added juice on account of Josh McDaniels.
On October 31, 2023, McDaniels was fired by the Raiders after just 21 months as the head coach, and Incognito said there are still untold stories about how poorly McDaniels treated his players in Las Vegas.
“I tell you what’s going to be a motivating factor for these Raiders. It’s going back and getting payback on Josh McDaniels because what Josh McDaniels did to this team for two years. He disrespected everybody on this team. He alienated everybody on this team. He lorded over them,” Incognito said on the Initial Contact podcast.
“Yeah, Josh you’re a great offensive coordinator, but you will never work outside New England. You reneged on the Indianapolis Colts job. You get the Raiders job, and you come in and you lord over everybody. ‘Listen, I have these Super Bowl rings. You guys don’t know how to win.’ It rubbed all these people the wrong way and you know how you know how I know that Raiders players [and] Raider Nation hates Josh McDaniels? They don’t even talk about him. No one’s even talked about him.”
“Those boys have stories from McDaniels that would blow people’s minds how bad he treated this team and the ultimate sign of disrespect is we don’t even talk about it. So I know that there are guys on this team that played for Josh McDaniels that want to go hand him an L up there in Foxboro. You guys can celebrate the tuck rule all you want. We’re going to be celebrating going up there and kicking this guy’s ***.”
Only a handful of players remain from McDaniels’ 2023 Raiders
As we approach the three-year anniversary of McDaniels’ firing, there are only seven players still in Las Vegas that played for him.
Maxx Crosby, Kolton Miller, Malcolm Koonce, Aidan O’Connell, Michael Mayer, Isaiah Pola-Mao and A.J. Cole are all that remain in Silver & Black from the McDaniels era.
Of that group, the only player who really thrived after McDaniels left was Koonce.
In the final nine games after McDaniels was fired, Koonce recorded 8 sacks.
Under McDaniels in 2023, Koonce played only 23.5 snaps per game, with 30 being his highest snap total. Under Antonio Pierce, Koonce averaged 34.7 snaps per game, and averaged 41 snaps per game in the final five games of the season.