Ahhh…here we go again. The Las Vegas Raiders once again have cleaned house. A day after deciding to part ways with head coach Antonio Pierce, the Raiders decided to let go of Tom Telesco. For the second time in less than two years, the Raiders are now searching for a new regime entirely.

The Raiders just endured a painful 4-13 season and failed to build off their stronger finish to the 2023 season. At this point, it’s time to right the ship and follow the mantra of “Commitment to Excellence”.

Commitment to Excellence

Commitment to Excellence is a slogan the Raiders have. However, they have been quite the opposite. Every time the Raiders take a step forward, they take five backwards. The Raiders reached the playoffs by a miracle in 2021 and then underwent an entire new regime. That regime turned the Raiders into a dumpster fire and they took yet another step backwards and missed the playoffs entirely. Midway through the 2023 season, the Raiders fired that entire regime and brought in Pierce and not long after that Tom Telesco.

Pierce finished the year strong, going 5-4 and he instilled optimism. Telesco himself has always built good rosters and he even drafted well this last draft for the Raiders. It is the first time in a while where the Raiders actually had a good draft. The new regime did not get off to a good start this season. Pierce was a rookie head coach and often showed it.

He made mistakes and we all do as human beings. The quarterback play and decision to give the keys to Gardner Minshew became a downfall. Not to mention, game management stuff and it just piled on and on and this team underwent a brutal ten game losing streak. So the Raiders decided to clean house. I get firing Antonio Pierce, but Telesco? That’s puzzling to me. This sounds harsh, but this is what loser organizations do.

The Raiders are not “Committing to Excellence” or even committing to taking steps forward. Raider Nation wants to see that this team has a plan and a direction. This constant state of rebuilding, which the team has seemingly undergone since 2021 is a tiring act.

This team does have talent on this roster and building blocks to building a true competitive football team. So what needs to be done and how can this team restore hope in the fan base and its players?

Hitting a Home Run

It goes without saying, but the Raiders NEED to hit a home run with this next regime. Mark Davis and Tom Brady not only need to do their due diligence, identifying the guys they want and executing their plan. After seeing that there are candidates that they want to coach available, they made that decision. As for Telesco, you better have a plan and hire the right man for that job.

One thing I did admire about this regime is that Telesco had the final say. Davis always gave that final say power to its head coaches (Gruden, McDaniels). Telesco was able to do his job and to be honest, did it well. So, if you are Brady and Davis you need to identify a manager who can come in and build around this roster and get it to contender status. Also, the head coach.

As a fan, id heavily advocate for Ben Johnson. Yes, Davis will be paying $30 million to coaches who aren’t on the sidelines, but give Johnson the keys to the stadium and let him run ship. The team does need an offensive minded coach and that coach will have the tools to work with. The big factor for me is the defensive coordinator.

Patrick Graham is currently a free agent and is seeking employment elsewhere. He has interviewed for the Bengals defensive coordinator and would thrive for that team. For the Raiders, yes get the best defensive coordinator available, but more importantly get a coordinator where the players fit that scheme. Trying to have players fit a scheme that does not fit will be painful. That’s how my brain works, but we can disagree on that.

Regardless, the ownership group has to hit a homerun with this regime. There needs to be stability with this organization and a direction they are headed towards. It’s time to end this state of rebuild and put a plan in place to strive towards winning. They need to put this plan in front of Maxx Crosby, who’s been very vocal about wanting to win and is tired of losing ways.

This is a very crucial offseason for the Raiders and the true work begins now.