On Monday, Josh McDaniels was officially announced as the next head coach of the Raiders at a press conference in Las Vegas.
He joins his college teammate Dave Ziegler, who was hired as general manager over the weekend.
“To our players and fans, we’re committed to our pursuit of excellence," McDaniels said. "Whatever we have to do to to achieve our goals, we’re going to put our head down, we’re going to work hard. We’re going to put great people in this building in every area and do whatever it takes to achieve that vision.
“I feel blessed to the people who have impacted me along the way, starting with my mom and dad, my family, have played such an important role in me being here today. I’ve been patient. I’ve been selective, maybe to a fault sometimes. People wanted me to do things a little earlier than maybe I did them. But, it was going to take a special place for me to really leave where I was, and I found that here in Las Vegas.”
This is McDaniels' second time as a head coach, as he didn't even last two full years in Denver back in 2009-10. The long-time Patriots offensive coordinator said he's learned a lot since that time.
“When I went to Denver, I knew a little bit about football, I didn’t really know people, and how important that aspect of this process and maintaining culture and building the team was," he said. "And I failed. And I didn’t succeed at it. Looking at that experience has been one of the best things in my life in terms of growth and an overall person and as a coach. What do I need to do different? How will I handle my role, if I get another opportunity? And do better at it. I feel like that’s really an area I have tried to grow in with our staff in New England — our offensive staff, working together, collaborating, supporting one another, impacting them, serving them. Helping them grow as coaches, as players, with our guys that were coaching. That’s the biggest area for me and I know as a head coach I need to be able to do that.”
The Raiders went 10-7 this past season and made the playoffs before losing to the Bengals in the AFC divisional round.