Credit Needs to Be Given to Raiders Owner Mark Davis

The Las Vegas Raiders have put together a strong offseason following major firings at head coach and general manager. Owner Mark Davis, in collaboration with minority owner and Super Bowl-winner Tom Brady, has put the pieces in place to pull the Silver and Black out of a long-time slump.

The latest piece to the puzzle was offensive coordinator hire Chip Kelly, who has NFL head coaching experience and just won a national championship with Ohio State.

As reported by Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer on X/Twitter, "The told candidates during their search they were making a serious commitment with an infusion of cash from the new owners. Here it is—Chip Kelly was lured to Vegas with a deal averaging $6 million per year, per sources," Breer wrote. "
Kelly is now the NFL's highest-paid coordinator."

In a follow-up post, Breer gave credit to the Silver and Black's owner.

"Give Mark Davis credit too—he prioritized finding partners who’d invest back in the team and it’s happening in a very big way now," Breer wrote. "DC Patrick Graham, who was already over $3 million per, got a raise to stay as well."

A good owner helps maintain the vision of those he put in place to help lead his franchise. Brady, who has a strong voice in the organization, wanted stability, exeperience, and continuity. Davis hired Pete Carroll to lead the franchise, a coach with a Super Bowl-winning pedigree and 30 years of NFL experience.

Want continuity? Davis made sure that special teams coordinator Tom McMahon stayed; the special teams coach is the only coach on the team besides the head coach that addresses the entire team, coaches both sides of the ball.

Then, Davis made sure to retain defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, considered by many around the NFL as one of the best defensive minds. This move makes it easier to keep All-Pro edge rusher Maxx Crosby and linebacker Robert Spillane in the desert, two things the Silver and Black desperately need to do.