With the 2023 regular season coming to a close over the next month, Mark Davis is preparing to hire the Las Vegas Raiders’ next coach and general manager. The Raiders are seeking the success and consistency they haven’t had in two decades, when they last won their division from 2000-2002.
Their lack of success has been in part because of their inability to hire the right coach. Owner Mark Davis may not have the best track record when it comes to making this decision, but at least he has some self-awareness.
“I’m getting good at it,” Davis said with a wink and a smile when asked about hiring another coach soon. “You got to get it right. You got to get the whole structure right so that everybody’s working together. The left hand has to know what the right hand is doing. That’s the goal: to start with getting people with passion for football and people who are unafraid to work. It’s not a 9-to-5 job; it’s an eight-days-a-week job,” via The Athletic’s Tashan Reed.
Davis has hired four different head coach since taking over the Raiders after his father, the late Al Davis, passed away. Between the tenures of Dennis Allen, Jack Del Rio, Jon Gruden and Josh McDaniels, the Raiders have played in just two playoff games and failed to win the division. Davis understands he needs better results, which is why he fired McDaniels after less than two seasons with the team.
“We’re trying to build something,” Davis said. “I want to have patience, but I understand that when I make a mistake, I’d rather fix it. I can’t sit on it. I’ve got to fix it right away. That’s something that’s tough to do because you’ve got people with families and lives involved. That’s the hardest part of making the change, but there’s so many other people involved that rely on you to make the right decision.”
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