Las Vegas Raiders clean house after Detroit Lions dominate on MNF

It was less than three years ago that the Detroit Lions got embarrassed on national television—remember this photo of owner Sheila Hamp?—and opted to fire coach Matt Patricia and general manager Bob Quinn in the days afterward.

On Monday night, the Lions were on the opposite side of a franchise-changing butt-whooping. After losing to the Lions 26-14 on “Monday Night Football”—and getting outgained 486 to 157—the Las Vegas Raiders have fired coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler.

Even though the Raiders were just 9-16 under McDaniels through 1.5 seasons, this move came as a pretty big surprise. The timing is a bit odd, as they let the duo operate the team through Tuesday’s trade deadline. Additionally, there were reports that Raiders owner Mark Davis told McDaniels he would have through the 2024 season to turn the franchise around.

But apparently posting just seven offensive points while allowing 486 yards of offense on “Monday Night Football” was enough for Davis to pull the plug 1.5 years early. It probably didn’t help seeing the team’s star receiver do this on the sidelines after a one-catch, 11-yard performance against Detroit.

“After much thought about what the Raiders need to move forward, I have decided to part ways with Josh and Dave. I want to thank them both for their hard work and wish them and their families nothing but the best,” Davis said in a written statement published at 10 p.m. PT, 1 a.m. ET.

McDaniels marks yet another failure from the Bill Belichick coaching tree. We’ve been there, Raiders fans. Better times are ahead.

Vegas named linebackers coach Antonio Pierce as their new interim head coach and assistant GM Champ Kelly as the interim general manager.