Luke Getsy came to the Raiders after the team’s negotiations with Kliff Kingsbury broke down. Eventually pivoting to a Commanders offer (with some help from minority Commanders owner Magic Johnson), Kingsbury sought a three-year deal from the Raiders, who were offering a two-year pact.
The Raiders circled back to Getsy, who had received interest for official and unofficial (in the Jets’ unique case, which also involved Kingsbury) OC jobs following his Bears firing. Getsy has seen the Raiders change quarterbacks and the latest preferred starter (Aidan O’Connell) go down with an injury. The Raiders have also traded their top offensive player, unloading a disgruntled Davante Adams. As could be expected, Las Vegas is struggling on that side of the ball.
Las Vegas ranks 26th in scoring (18 points per game) and 28th in total yardage. DVOA slots Getsy’s offense in that neighborhood, measuring it 27th through eight games. Although Antonio Pierce is not contemplating a change, the Raiders HC took aim at his play-caller amid a four-game skid.
“It has to get better,” Pierce said of Getsy’s play-calling, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Vincent Bonsignore. “… There’s been a lot of opportunities for us to score points and make opportunities. And, yeah, that’s on the play-caller. It does start with the coordinator. He’s got to be the one that takes the fall for that and gets most of the blame. But it is collective.”
Pierce further couched that assessment by saying the team’s struggles are “on all of us,” but this situation will be one of the many to monitor moving forward. The Raiders have not scored more than 20 points since Week 3, when the Panthers stampeded to their only win of the season (after a bounce-back 2023, Patrick Graham‘s defense ranks 27th in points and 23rd in DVOA). The Raiders rank 31st in rushing yards, as their post-Josh Jacobs period has not started well.
Las Vegas let Jacobs walk, not submitting an offer in the ballpark of a four-year, $48MM Packers deal that included just $13.5MM guaranteed at signing. The Raiders instead added Alexander Mattison to play behind Zamir White, adding the ex-Vikings Dalvin Cook replacement on a one-year, $2MM deal. Neither White nor Mattison has impressed, respectively sporting 3.0 and 3.2 per-carry averages. Pro Football Focus ranks the Raiders’ O-line 18th.
The Raiders have seen Brock Bowers become their runaway lead target but would-be sidekick Michael Mayer, whom the team traded up for early in the 2023 second round, land on the reserve/NFI list. Pierce said earlier this month Mayer is dealing with “personal stuff” and did not have a return timetable. Jakobi Meyers, who has landed in trade rumors, leads Raiders wide receivers with 325 yards. Adams contributed just three games to the Raiders’ cause, going down with a hamstring injury. The team viewed Adams as slow-playing his return amid trade uncertainty.
Getsy drew some iffy hands with the Bears as well, with Justin Fields not establishing consistency as a passer. He now looks to be in a worse situation, as the Raiders remain in search of their next franchise QB and appear to be considering moving Meyers after trading Adams. How the team’s second half unfolds will affect Pierce’s future, and Getsy’s will certainly be tied to it.