Sportsnaut
After a clunky 10-7 loss to the Denver Broncos, the Las Vegas Raiders fired special teams coordinator Tom McMahon, prompting questions about other coaches on staff amid a disappointing season.
With eight games left on the schedule, the Raiders need to show some progress, or else team brass could get impatient. Typically, before a team fires a head coach, the lead skipper will relieve a coordinator or position coach of his duties. Since the Raiders already did the former, head coach Pete Carroll may already feel the pressure of expectations.
Let’s check the seat temperature of a few coaches whose job security could be shaky in the coming weeks if the Raiders don’t trend in the right direction.
Raiders rookie wideouts Jack Bech and Dont’e Thornton Jr. have made minimal contributions thus far this season. While it’s too early to write them off as draft misses, wide receivers coach Chris Beatty should feel the pressure of developing the two first-year pros.
Bech, a second-rounder, has seven catches for 73 yards, and Thornton, a fourth-rounder, has hauled in six passes for 98 yards. Neither played an offensive snap in Week 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Thornton was inactive for that game.
Though it’s expected for rookies to go through their ups and downs, the Raiders desperately need one of their first-year receivers to complement All-Pro tight end Brock Bowers in the passing game. If 11th-year veteran Tyler Lockett sees more action than Bech and Thornton in three-receiver sets going forward, Beatty may be the scapegoat for the rookie wideouts’ lack of progress.
Coaching Seat: Hot
In the Raiders’ previous outing, tight end Brock Bowers saw only three targets, which is inexcusable given his talent and ability after a record-breaking rookie year. Quarterback Geno Smith and offensive coordinator Chip Kelly deserve blame for Bowers’ disappearing act last Thursday.
Smith should be looking for Bowers in every possible situation. Kelly must be able to feature his best offensive playmaker, even if that player helps out with pass protection in a tight end role.
Before Las Vegas’ Week 6 matchup with the Tennessee Titans, head coach Pete Carroll publicly criticized Kelly’s play-calling because it didn’t feature the ground game enough. In the following outing, Jeanty logged a career-high 23 carries.
If Kelly must be told to feature his young stars in the offense, the Raiders may feel the need to move on at the end of the season. However, because he’s the league’s highest-paid offensive coordinator, the longtime play-caller may not be in danger of losing his job yet.
Coaching Seat: Lukewarm
Pete Carroll is running an operation that’s fallen way short of expectations, and he admitted that on Thursday. Carroll’s critics will argue that the game has passed him by because of his age (74) following his one-year hiatus from the NFL.
With a veteran quarterback, a first-round running back, and a star tight end, the Raiders’...
