Raiders players can’t stop telling the world how miserable they were under Josh McDaniels.
Second-year tight end Michael Mayer, while not specifically referencing his former coach, sounded like a prisoner experiencing freedom for the first time while discussing the pre- and post-McDaniels eras.
“My mentality, my attitude this year — nothing wrong with last year, but it’s different this year. It’s different. I’m way happier, I’m more positive, I love to be here out on this field. I love to play football, man, it’s what I do, it’s my job,” Mayer said. “I’ve definitely flipped the script a little bit.
“Last year, maybe there were some days I didn’t wanna come in or something was going down — I flipped the script. It’s time to dig down, play some ball, win some ball games and do what I need to do for this team. Rookie year is over. That’s way in the past. I’ve already reflected on it, I’ve already put it behind me, I don’t even think about it anymore.”
Raiders players have not been shy about expressing their frustration with McDaniels, who was fired in the middle of his second season with the team.
Star receiver Davante Adams said, “It’s going to be better now,” after McDaniels’ exit and then danced in the locker room after a win over the Jets.
A reporter for The Athletic described the team’s locker room as what “might have been the happiest locker room ever” after the switch from McDaniels to then-interim and now full-time head coach Antonio Pierce.
The players have been effusive in their praise of Pierce after the McDaniels mess, and it seems those good vibes are continuing into Pierce’s first full season as their head coach.
Mayer, a second-round pick out of Notre Dame in 2023, had a quiet first year, catching 27 passes for 304 yards and two touchdowns.
He took a more direct shot at McDaniels by heaping praise on new offensive coordinator Luke Getsy’s system compared to last year’s direction.
“I’d say it’s a little bit more simple, yeah … easier to understand,” Mayer said, per ESPN.
Mayer’s new optimistic outlook comes even as there is uncertainty about how he will be used this year considering the team added top tight end Brock Bowers with the No. 12 pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
“How are you going to stop [us]?” Mayer said, according to ESPN. “Brock has a lot of speed … I’ve gotten a little bit faster, and I think there’s a ton of things — No. 1, in the run game, Brock will be able to help me out with, too, blocking. But then No. 2, who’s going to guard both of us? If you put a ‘backer here, put a small safety here? I’m a big body, Brock’s a big body, so it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
