The Raiders might look like the West Coast version of the Patriots, but that doesn’t mean they’ll walk, talk and act like them.
Since becoming head coach of the Raiders, Josh McDaniels has hired and signed a slew of former New England coaches and players. Despite that, former Patriots safety Duron Harmon, who recently signed with Las Vegas, insists McDaniels isn’t trying to replicate the culture that Bill Belichick built over two decades in New England.
During a “Good Morning Football” appearance Wednesday morning, Harmon was asked how having former Patriots will impact the Raiders with McDaniels leading the way.
“I think it helps,” he said, via Will Selva of NFL Network. “He’s trying to create a culture that is not the Patriot Way. He’s said it over and over.”
If you’re looking for evidence of Harmon’s point, look no further than McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler, New England’s former personnel chief, parting with significant draft assets and committing record-breaking money to receiver Davante Adams. That was a very un-Patriot-like move.
Ultimately, Belichick undoubtedly will influence McDaniels’ decision-making in Vegas. He’d be foolish not to apply the lessons he learned from the greatest coach in football history.
But trying to mimic Belichick has been a recipe for failure for other members of the future Hall of Famer’s coaching tree. McDaniels probably would be wise to do his own thing and be his own person in the biggest opportunity of his football career.
