Shannon Sharpe reveals big tell about Josh McDaniels’ refusal to put Davante Adams in his place after comments
Josh McDaniels recently took a passive approach on Davante Adams expressing some apparent frustrations with the Las Vegas Raiders. The head coach is reportedly encouraging Adams to express his opinions, even if they are negative, as he allegedly claimed his superstar wide receiver has earned the right to do so.
While dealing with many different bold personalities is clearly one of the trickiest parts of being a head coach, Josh McDaniels' decision to 'allow' the relative negativity has been called into question. The situation was recently discussed on an episode of Undisputed in a conversation between Shannon Sharpe and Skip Bayless.
Here's what Sharpe had to say about McDaniels:
"I don't believe what he said. Knowing him for the while that he was in Denver, he ran everything with an iron fist coming from the New England system. And I've talked to guys that were there, they hand you the gameplan and you don't question it. If you question it, it is going to be a problem.
"So for him to say this now, 'He's earned the right,' he's seething. But he understands who and what Davante Adams is. He is the preeminent one of the two preeminent receivers, and all the football. So you got to. So what is he gonna say?"
Bayless responded:
"Is it possible that Josh McDaniels has finally been humbled? Because is his seat not getting hotter and hotter? Of course, okay. The farther he gets away from Belichick, the worse he looks. And now without Brady, Belichick is starting to get more exposed."
Davante Adams recently stated that there is no feud at all between him and Josh McDaniels, or anyone else in the Raiders organization for that matter. Voicing opinions to the media is apparently a brand new approach for McDaniels in what he 'allows' with his players.
His last head coaching job with the Denver Broncos was run in a similar 'keep everything in house' way as his previous team, New England Patriots, according to Shannon Sharpe. It's possible that this is a conscious decision by McDaniels to change his approach after struggling to find success during his career as a head coach.
Josh McDaniels' disappointing career as a head coach
Despite his incredible success as an offensive coordinator, especially with the New England Patriots, Josh McDaniels has struggled to have it translate to being a head coach. He spent less than two full seaosns as the head coach of the Denver Broncos in 2009 and 2010, combining for just an 11-17 record.
His first year in the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders ended in a disastrous 6-11 record during the 2022 NFL season. This brings his overall career record to 17-28, failing to post a winning record in any of his three seasons.