Raiders owner Mark Davis forced to defend head coach after stadium row with fans

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Frustrated Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis did not hold back as he fielded criticism of the team
Frustrated Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis did not hold back as he fielded criticism of the team's head coach Josh McDaniels (Image: TikTok)

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis fielded the dissenting voices of fans as he defended head coach Josh McDaniels amid criticism following the team's Week 4 loss.

A defeat to the Los Angeles Chargers left McDaniels at 7-14 after taking over the reins and it appears that some fans are slowly losing faith. In a clip that went viral on social media, one supporter is even seen expressing his disapproval directly at Davis in the stands.

The 68-year-old was told to "fire him" - in reference to the under-fire coach - by disgruntled fans at Allegiant Stadium during their latest loss. Visibly angered, the billionaire businessman did not hold back as he fired back a barbed response to his critics, appearing to tell the detractors to "smarten up."

In another clip, which was posted by a separate TikTok user, one frustrated fan tells Davis to "get rid" of McDaniels. However, unlike in the other piece of footage, the Raiders' managing general partner was not shown to react to these comments in that instance.

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Following their 17-16 win over the Denver Broncos on opening day, the Raiders have fell to three consecutive losses. With this latest loss to the Chargers simply adding to the low morale in the camp, even running back Josh Jacobs did not hold back when outlining his frustrations.

Speaking to the media as their hopes of reaching the playoffs got even slimmer, an exasperated Jacobs spoke honestly of his sorrow at recent results. He admitted: "I’m tired of losing, just keep it 100, I’m tired of f****** losing. I feel like every day I go in there and I work my a** off."

“No, it makes it worse because that just means 5-6 plays can be the difference in the outcome of the game. But at the same time, you’re tired of saying 5-6 plays … it’s just time to do that s***."

Raiders owner Mark Davis forced to defend head coach after stadium row with fansLas Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels is now coming under fire from the team's fans (AP)

As for McDaniels himself, it appears that he is suddenly under pressure - especially given the perceived underperformance of his team on offense this season. As it stands, the Raiders are yet to score more than 18 points in any game this season.

Indeed, their current average of 15.5 points a game stands as the fourth-worst in the NFL at this stage of the campaign. Even more concerning will be the fact that the Raiders also boast the fifth-most expensive offense in the NFL, as per Spotrac.

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That said, their toils are not helped by the costly absence of starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who was ruled out of the Chargers clash with a concussion. Rookie Aidan O'Connell stood in for the injured QB and went 24-of-39 for 238 yards, registering one interception and failing to score a touchdown.

Speaking of his decision to give O'Connell the nod over veteran Brian Hoyer, McDaniels explained: "This was different, so [O’Connell] had an opportunity to take reps every day … and because of that, we just felt like we’d keep Brian in the role that he’s in and go ahead and give Aidan a shot."

Tom Beattie

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