Can the Raiders afford to fire Josh McDaniels? Exploring under-fire head coach's contract

Las Vegas Raiders fans are calling for head coach Josh McDaniels to be fired and it looks like Mark Davis, the Raiders owner has answered the call.

McDaniels and the Raiders suffered a 26-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday Night Football. With the loss, Las Vegas dropped to 3-2 this season.

McDaniels is in his second season as Raiders head coach and last year his team went 6-11. Given Las Vegas has struggled with McDaniels at the helm, some fans wanted him fired. While the reportss mentioned Raiders not having enough money to fire McDaniels, owner Mark Davis has taken things under his measures and fired the head coach.

Nuts and bolts of Josh McDaniels' contract with the Raiders

The Las Vegas Raiders hired Josh McDaniels in January of 2022, and it was reported that he got a four-year deal worth $10 million a season.

McDaniels was hired following Las Vegas firing Jon Gruden. The Raiders hired Gruden to a 10-year $100 million deal and he was still owed approximately $40 million guaranteed, which made the Raiders cash-strapped.

With Las Vegas still having to pay Gruden, reports came out that the Raiders don't have the money to fire McDaniels at the present time.

As the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, Josh McDaniels is 9-16. Prior to getting the head coaching job, McDaniels was the New England Patriots offensive coordinator, a role he held from 2012.

Potential replacements for the Raiders if they still choose to fire Josh McDaniels

With the Las Vegas Raiders deciding to fire Josh McDaniels, here would be options to replace him.

One option would be Brian Callahan who is the Cincinnati Bengals offensive coordinator, which is a role he's held for five seasons. He interviewed for both the Indianapolis Colts and Arizona Cardinals head coaching openings this past off-season, so he already is getting interest from around the NFL.

The second option would be Dan Quinn, the Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator. He also is the former head coach of the Atlanta Falcons and went 43-42 with the club.

The final potential option to replace Josh McDaniels is Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Dorsey is leading one of the NFL's best offenses, and if the Raiders want another offensive-mind in charge, Dorsey could make sense to replace McDaniels.