Columnist: Josh McDaniels second ‘worst head-coaching hire of the past two decades’

After the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels on Tuesday, Las Vegas keeps getting skewered for one of the worst hires ever.

“Outside of maybe Urban Meyer, there’s a pretty strong case to be made that McDaniels is the worst head-coaching hire of the past two decades,” wrote ESPN’s Bill Barnwell.

Meyer — who won two national championships at Florida and one at Ohio State — flopped in the NFL. In one season as Jaguars HC, he had several notable incidents that embarrassed the organization and went 2-11 before Jacksonville fired him. In 2021, a Bleacher Report article listed him as the worst head-coaching hire of the 2000s.

McDaniels’ tenure in Las Vegas wasn’t as chaotic as Meyer’s, but it was a huge disappointment. In two seasons as Raiders HC, he went 9-16, and the team made questionable personnel moves, such as replacing longtime starting QB Derek Carr with Jimmy Garoppolo — who was reportedly benched on Wednesday.  

Unlike Meyer, McDaniels failed with two franchises. He served as Denver Broncos HC from 2009-10 and started 6-0 before losing 12 of his next 17 games. The team was also fined for videotaping a San Francisco 49ers practice and made highly criticized draft choices, including selecting former QB Tim Tebow in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft.

Additionally, he almost took the Indianapolis Colts job in 2017 before changing his mind and returning to the New England Patriots, where he served as offensive coordinator for 13 seasons.

“Assuming McDaniels is done as an HC, he finishes his career with a 20-33 record,” wrote Barnwell. “I cannot find another coach since 1970 who was fired before the end of his second season with two different teams, and that’s not even considering he left the Colts at the altar.”

A team might take a shot on McDaniels as an O-coordinator, but he will not get another chance as an HC anytime soon after two terrible stints.