Meeting Before Josh McDaniels Firing Reportedly Included Patriots Wrinkle

Josh McDaniels reportedly asked Antonio Pierce to speak at the well-documented Las Vegas Raiders team meeting last week. But McDaniels, who since has been fired from his position as head coach, reportedly didn’t like what Pierce had to say.

Pierce’s comments involved the 2007 New England Patriots.

NFL insider Jay Glazer reported on FOX Sports pregame coverage Sunday that Pierce used the New York Giants team that defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII to share a story. Pierce, a linebacker on that New York squad, brought it up to motivate current Raiders players and help them believe they could beat any team they go up against — like those Giants believed.

The insight Glazer shared is eye-popping:

“And finally Josh McDaniels had Antonio Pierce get up and speak on behalf of him and the coaches. When Antonio Pierce got up there, he said, ‘Look, guys, we have to have our own culture. It’s got to be culture here. And we also have to look at it,’ and he brought up the old Giants team that beat the Patriots, Josh McDaniels’ team, in the Super Bowl in 2007 season.

“He (Pierce) said, ‘No matter who we played we thought we could beat them. We had a game plan that we could beat them. We had to believe that, and that’s not here with the Raiders. We can beat anybody.’

“Well, he (Pierce) finishes up that speech and everybody thinks they’re great — except for Josh McDaniels. Josh McDaniels then goes over to him and says, ‘Don’t ever talk about the Patriots like that,'” Glazer recited. “And then you really saw how divided that building got.”

"There was this big airing of the grievance meeting and players just unloaded on Josh McDaniels." @JayGlazer has the Inside Scoop on the Raiders' pic.twitter.com/pGx0ixwoVd

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) November 5, 2023

Pierce has since taken over as the Raiders interim coach.

Glazer reported many of the same sentiments about the meeting as others. Glazer said countless players “unloaded” on McDaniels during the meeting, including the captains. According to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport, Raiders players knew after that meeting the McDaniels era was nearing the end. McDaniels was fired at 1 a.m. on Halloween night, Rapoport reported.

It’s since been speculated whether McDaniels, a longtime offensive coordinator for the Patriots, might return for another stint in New England. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, however, hadn’t given it any thought.