Raiders owner looking for answers, not apologies after ‘really, really, really bad day’
NEW YORK — In the aftermath of the Raiders’ blowout loss to the Chiefs on Sunday, a mea culpa was delivered to owner Mark Davis.
“I was apologized to by some people in the organization,” Davis said Tuesday at the NFL’s fall league meetings.
Davis’ immediate response was swift.
“I told them, I’m not looking for apologies. I’m looking for answers,” he said.
Davis said the process of coming up with those solutions will not include making significant changes among the football leadership, including coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek.
“You have to have faith in the people that you hired. And I do,” Davis said. “You’ve got to give them a chance to do the job.”
The 31-0 loss to the Chiefs — in which Kansas City finished with a 30-3 edge in first downs, 434-95 edge in total yards and 77-30 edge in plays — was excruciating for Davis to watch. It wasn’t just the manner in which the Raiders lost, he said. It also was about regression.
“Not happy,” Davis said. “It was a really, really, really bad day.”
As he digested the humbling performance, he thought about when his Las Vegas Aces team lost to the Minnesota Lynx by 53 points in August. It was the lowest of lows for the Aces, who were teetering at 14-14 and coming off the worst home loss in WNBA history.
Davis said he contemplated making wholesale changes.
“You start questioning the players. You start questioning the coaching,” he said. “You start questioning everything.”
It’s a road Davis has been down multiple times. He fired coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco in January after one season. Before that, he fired coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler in the middle of their second seasons in Las Vegas. All total, he has fired five head coaches and five general managers.
In each case, he thought he had seen enough to make a change.
“I’m more than willing, all the time, to rip the Band-Aid off and start over,” Davis said. “That’s not a question with me.”
But he resisted the urge with the Aces, saying, “I had faith in the leadership that I hired.”
The Aces responded by reeling off 16 straight regular-season wins before rolling to their third WNBA championship in four seasons.
It was a learning lesson for Davis. Sometimes, the correct course of action is showing confidence in whom you hired by giving them time to find solutions.
“You always question, but as I did with the Aces, I had faith in the leadership, just as I have faith in the people that I hired here as the head coach and general manager,” Davis said. “And I’m going to let them do their job and let’s see what the results are.”
As for the 74-year-old Carroll, Davis said he’s keeping a positive approach.
“He’s fantastic. He’s great,” Davis said. “He’s a pro. He’s been here before.”
Davis deferred to Carroll and Spytek when asked about making changes on the coaching staff.
“I don’t make those decisions,” he said. “We talk. We discuss things, but I don’t make those decisions. That’s up to the people that I hired to do their jobs.”
Striving to get it right
As Davis pointed out, since he became the Raiders owner after the death of his father, Al Davis, in 2011, only eight franchises have won Super Bowl championships.
“That means 24 of us have not,” Davis said. “It’s a vicious battle.”
Hoisting a Super Bowl trophy remains the bottom-line goal for Davis, but he understands the process.
“Results are what speak to me in the long run, but along the way, I want to see progress. And that’s really the only way to judge it,” he said. “But at the same time, keeping in mind what the prize is at the end of the road.”
Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.
