The Raiders Firing Josh McDaniels Means Las Vegas Is Paying Another Coach to Not Be on the Sidelines

After this season ends, the Las Vegas Raiders will hire a full-time head coach, whether it's promoting interim Antonio Pierce or tabbing an outside candidate.

Whoever it is, they'll add to the multiple head coaches that the franchise is paying.

Early on Wednesday morning, the Raiders fired head coach Josh McDaniels -- along with general manager Dave Ziegler and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi. The former signed a six-year deal worth roughly $60 million to join Las Vegas in January of 2022, replacing interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. Bisaccia had taken over for Jon Gruden, who stepped down as Raiders head coach in October of 2021 after past racist, homophobic and misogynistic emails were leaked just days earlier.

With NFL coaching contracts being fully guaranteed, the Raiders are still on the hook for the remainder of McDaniels' contract. They would still be on the hook for Gruden's as well if not for a settlement the two sides reached just weeks after he stepped down. Gruden had six years left on a 10-year, $100 million deal when he resigned.

So, based on a bit of math, Las Vegas owes roughly $40 million to McDaniels, after a likely substantial settlement with Gruden -- the 60-year-old was owed roughly $40 million when he stepped down, but the terms of the settlement were undisclosed.

That's quite a bit of money to be paying coaches who are, in fact, not coaching your team. And given that the Raiders are currently facing upheaval at the quarterback position, have a star wide receiver whose frustration is impossible to misinterpret and have made the postseason just twice in the last two decades, the franchise clearly is a long way from returning to relevance.

Perhaps that road back begins on Sunday, as the Raiders (3-5) host the New York Giants (2-6) in Week 9.