Respect for Tom Flores would be appreciated. He was a great coach too, without question.
I wouldn't say I think "highly" of Josh McDaniels. I just am not one of the very vocal people who scream he should be fired after every loss. I think maybe more highly of him as I do Gruden, who was vastly overrated. But I am not one of the fire happy type managers who think everyone works better under threat of termination, and no one can learn anything or grow, certainly not from mistakes, and must be punished the first misstep they take. Lots of Raiders "fans" out there like this, not just McDaniels, but half the staff and players. If they had their way, they'd hit that reset button every single year. The irony is, a large chunk of them who if they don't want the team to go all in with Rodgers, want Carr to stick around, and the team to hire Gruden back. Yeah, right.
The Raiders biggest problem, by far, is defense. Then lack of depth on the OL. Their defense was one of the worst in the league in almost every stat. The Broncos had one of the best defenses, by comparison. An aging Rodgers won't change that for the Raiders, at all. Rodgers and Adams couldn't get it done in Green Bay, on a team with a better OL, and far better defense, in a much weaker division. There's talk about giving up a player (not Carr, who won't go there) plus 2 to 4 high draft picks to get Rodgers. Insane. Putting all their stock into him would be foolish. This is why I think there is a good chance Mark Davis will push to make it happen. He's not the most meddling owner, but he's often said one thing, then done another, and pushed horrible decisions at the worst possible time. The the firing of Jack Del Rio and Reggie McKenzie so he could hire Gruden and Mayock. Then pushing to get rid of Kahlil Mack because he was holding out. Then dumping Amari Cooper because he had the same agent, and Davis didn't like him. I'm sure I could find more if I want to give myself a headache. Mark thinks he's his dad, who did make great football decisions when young, in a different era, but he's not.
Rodgers and McDaneils would indeed be like oil and water.
Will the Ziegler and McDaniels duo be good for the Raiders? Their only hope is if Mark Davis reiterates the long-term goal of building a solid foundation, makes almost ZERO decisions, and keeps his trap closed. But he's yet to do that in the years he's owned the team. The only hope may be if Dave Ziegler, when pushed by Mark, threatens to walk. But even Gruden would only stand up to Davis for so long.
Mark easily could have moved the team to LA. He also could have easily accepted the $600m stadium Oakland offered, which would have been one of the better stadiums in the league. But he followed the money to Vegas when he got the city to build him a $1.9b monstrosity, that now charges some of the most expensive tickets in sports. And he wonders, in this tourist town, why half the seats are filled with fans from opposing teams? The Oakland Raiders had some of the most loyal fans in sports. Even when the team was in LA they had loyal fans. Both the hispanics (Flores and Plunkett a big influence, obviously) but also the early rap/NWA, Run DMC crowds too. Lots of people in LA loved the Raiders. Moving the team to Vegas was all about greed. And Mark's personal wealth has more than doubled in the last two years, even with empty seats at Allegiant, and a lack of big game TV revenue.
One reason Rodgers may be buying a house in Vegas is the lack of taxes.
I lived in Nevada, both the Vegas area, and Reno. Gambling addiction is a sickness. Gambling is one of the worst forms of psychological addiction as well. It's random reward with a significantly small amount of skill involved (not including blackjack and professional poker players). Plus, with gambling in an addict's mind the money to be won is limitless, and money can be translated into whatever you dream. Houses, cars, round the world vacations, etc. The fact that the league has partnered with these gambling institutions isn't just bothersome, it's disgraceful.
Credit to the city of Reno. There's still a casinos there, but if you visit the city now they have really diversified growing business development there. Vegas is still the same as before however. An adult gambling disney-like spectacle for aspiring addicts and people with more money than sense.
Sorry for such a long, rambling post. Touched a nerve.
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