The Las Vegas Raiders have not been the most stable franchise of the past few years, to say the least.
With another head coaching change following the firing of second-year coach Antonio Pierce, team owner Mark Davis once again enters an offseason with a lot of questions to answer, not the least of which is who will the next quarterback be in Sin City?
Despite all of the struggles that continued through another losing 4-13 season without a playoff berth, the Raiders have one of the best players in the league on their roster with defensive end Maxx Crosby.
On Friday morning, Crosby went on NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" and was asked about what it has been like in the Raiders building over the past few weeks since the end of the season.
He used one word to describe the feeling: "Eerie."
Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby (98) warms up against the Kansas City Chiefs prior go a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images
Denny Medley-Imagn Images
"It's very eerie around there, I would say," Crosby said on Friday. "A lot of new changes and things like that, obviously with coach AP getting fired, and (general manager Jim) Telesco as well. ... For me, I'm just focused on the day-to-day. A lot of things are out of my control."
While there has been some turmoil and upheaval in the Raiders front office and coaching staff so far this offseason, some fans are looking forward to the upcoming 2025 NFL draft, where Las Vegas holds the No. 6 overall pick.
The 2024 draft was a success for the Raiders, who selected rookie phenom tight end Brock Bowers in the first round. However, there is some hesitancy among fans, as the franchise doesn't have the best track-record of first-round picks over the last decade. The team has spent first-round picks on the likes of Dylan Parham, Alex Leatherwood, Henry Ruggs III, Clelin Ferrell, and Gareon Conley in the last six years, many of whom are no longer with the team, and some of whom are no longer even in the NFL.
The first step to fixing this "eerie" feeling will be hiring a head coach who can take over and improve the culture, making the Raiders more of what they were decades ago when postseason success was the norm.
At the moment, the top candidates for the job are Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, and Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
