Don't worry, Saturday isn't getting back into coaching
Those on the East Coast woke up to the surprise firing of Josh McDaniels on Wednesday, and ESPN’s “Get Up” had a unique way to open their show.
While McDaniels’ tenure as Raiders head coach was awful, it still was a surprise Las Vegas let him, general manager Dave Ziegler and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi go given owner Mark Davis adamantly defended McDaniels any time criticism came his way.
Linebackers coach and Super Bowl XLII champion Antonio Pierce will assume interim duties, but ESPN host Mike Greenberg pointed out on the opening of “Get Up” on Wednesday that the last time a coach was fired in the middle of a season, Jeff Saturday was swiped from his duties at ESPN and became interim head coach of the Indianapolis Colts.
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Marcus Spears and Kimberly Martin joined in on the opening bit and eventually welcomed Saturday into the studio, and the retired offensive lineman walked out with a Raiders helmet and headset. Ironically, Saturday beat McDaniels last season in his head coaching debut.
Pierce, who has much more experience as a coach in college and in the NFL than Saturday did, will prepare the Raiders against his former team the New York Giants on Sunday.
Las Vegas still is on the hook to pay McDaniels for four seasons, but it’s up in the air if the former Patriots offensive coordinator would return to New England.