Josh McDaniels’ time as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders came to an unceremonious end last week.
Mark Davis decided to give McDaniels his second — and almost certainly last — attempt at NFL head coaching in 2022. Over the span of one year the 47-year-old managed to somehow alienate players and fellow coaches alike with record speed.
In the end, his time with the Raiders concluded much like his time with the Denver Broncos did more than a decade ago – in total embarrassment.
This week, while recounting McDaniels’ many failures, Nate Jackson of The Defector dropped something of a bomb: apparently there are rumors that McDaniels once traded a star player because he thought his wife was attracted to him.
“McDaniels’s ego wasn’t only fragile on the field,” Jackson wrote.
“He famously shipped out running back Peyton Hillis because, rumor had it, McDaniels thought his wife was attracted to Hillis.”
In an NFL week that saw referees blatantly help one team cheat and Sam Ponder get criticized for her outfit choice on ESPN, this is somehow the weirdest football story of the last few days.
McDaniels’ move to trade Hillis back in 2010 was widely panned. It made no sense given that the then-star running back seemed to be approaching the peak of his skills. Surely enough, after getting moved by Denver, he went on to have a career year.
Ciara Wears Wild Outfit To Nuggets Game With Russell Wilson (Photos): https://t.co/GhrO0mr7D0
— Game 7 (@game7__) November 8, 2023
What did McDaniels get back for Hillis at the time? Brady Quinn. Enough said.
Obviously nobody will ever be able to confirm the veracity of this rumor. That said, it would be a pretty wild thing for someone to make up.
And it isn’t like McDaniels has earned a ton of goodwill or trust from people who have seen him coach. The man is a disaster and the Raiders already seem to be in a much better place mentally now that he is gone.
Related: Jalen Rose Called Out Over Wild Molly Qerim Photo
A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
