NFL Insider notes on Raiders: Luke Getsy's failures, Tom Telesco's concern with 'overrated' roster, and more
A season full of hope after the interim head coach was made permanent and a new general manager was brought into the mix has quickly gone south for the Raiders. They’ve already parted ways with their best offensive player, wide receiver Davante Adams, who was traded off to the Jets, and the team recently signed Falcons castoff Desmond Ridder, hoping to improve the quarterback position that has been a sore spot this year. Will they continue to trade away talented veterans and stock up on draft picks? And why has it gone so wrong?
After the midseason firing of head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler last November, speculation ran wild as to what direction owner Mark Davis would take next. Would he hire Jim Harbaugh, the hot name everyone wanted to be their next head coach? Look from within? Or go in another direction altogether?
Ultimately Davis chose to hire from within, elevating then-interim head coach Antonio Pierce to permanent status. Pierce had huge support and backing from the players, who wanted their former linebackers coach to lead the team moving forward.
It’s been a bit of a bumpy ride for Pierce, who claimed "I think there were definitely some individuals that made business decisions. And we'll make business decisions going forward, as well,” after a disastrous loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. Pierce later apologized for seemingly implying some of his players had mailed it in, yet the team has yet to recover.
And while the players still back Pierce, poor quarterback play and equally bad coaching from many of his assistants has led to the present situation, which is a team with a 2-5 record that must face the Kansas City Chiefs twice in the next five weeks.
League sources have blasted offensive coordinator Luke Getsy and tell me he is responsible for the poor play of the unit he oversees. The inconsistency of quarterbacks Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew has reminded many of Getsy’s past. The prior two seasons, Getsy held the same position with the Chicago Bears and was bashed for his inability to develop Justin Fields, the 2021 first-round pick the team traded to the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason for a sixth-round pick.
The criticism of assistant coaches is not just directed at Getsy but also extends to Marvin Lewis and Rob Ryan.
Ryan, a once-celebrated defensive coordinator, is listed as the teams “Senior Defensive Assistant.” Lewis, formerly the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals from 2003 to 2015 who also coached with Pierce at Arizona State, is listed as Assistant Head Coach. Detractors close to the situation tell me both Ryan and Lewis have checked out and are basically just in Las Vegas to collect checks.
Tom Telesco was already concerned about the Raiders talent before the season began
The Raiders’ poor results this season, despite high hopes, are not a surprise to decision-makers on the inside. Sources tell me general manager Tom Telesco had his concerns about the talent on the roster before the season, believing it was being overrated, and the hopes are to bring in more of his players moving forward.
After being ravaged with drafts that produced one first-round bust after another when Jon Gruden ran the show, Telesco is off to a good start. Tight end Brock Bowers is as good, if not better than advertised, and the team has high hopes for offensive tackle DJ Glaze.
Would Telesco move additional star players to acquire draft picks, as he did with Adams?
Possibly.
While the team is not dangling Maxx Crosby on the trade market, they have been receiving calls from teams who would like to acquire the pass rusher and are willing to part with a first-round pick to secure the deal.
After a combined 27 sacks the past two seasons, Crosby has 6.5 to his credit this season. It may be tough to pry Crosby away from the Raiders. Unlike Adams in his final days with the franchise, I’m told Crosby is in no rush to leave Las Vegas and is happy being a Raider; an intangible that is very important to owner Mark Davis.