Anyone can be replaced.
That’s the message defensive back Nate Hobbs felt was made clear when assistant coaches Luke Getsy, James Cregg, and Rich Scangarello were let go after the Las Vegas Raiders lost to the Cincinnati Bengals 41-24 last Sunday.
“You’ve got to come in here and earn it every day,” Hobbs said. “If you’re not producing and doing what you were brought here to do, and what was envisioned before the season started, then you can be replaced.
“It’s the NFL. They say ‘Not For Long.’ So, never get complacent.” The Raiders (2-7) are heading into their bye week after losing five games in a row and with many issues to address under first-year head coach Antonio Pierce.
“I just want to see ‘us,’ man, like I always talked about,” Pierce said. “‘Us’ looking right, sounding right, matching the philosophy and idea of what I preach, which is physicality, ability to run the ball, taking shots down the field, protecting the football, first and foremost, disciplined up front.”
“I think what we’re going to do going forward, we’ve got to deal with what we have to. Obviously, we’re dealing with injuries. A lot of new players are in and out of the lineup. We’ve got to do what’s best and gives us the best opportunity to win, whatever that may be.”
Pierce took the first step on Tuesday by bringing in Norv Turner as a senior advisor to the coaching staff. He also named Scott Turner as the interim offensive coordinator and Joe Philbin as the interim offensive line coach.
Norv Turner is returning to the Raiders for his second time after coaching the team in 2004-05. He has also served as a head coach in Washington and San Diego and has been an offensive coordinator for several teams since 1991.
Scott Turner, the son of Norv Turner, is stepping in for Luke Getsy as the new offensive coordinator. Before this, Scott Turner was the pass game coordinator for the Raiders.
Joe Philbin, with nearly 40 years of coaching experience, joined the Raiders this season as a senior offensive assistant and replaced James Cregg as the offensive line coach.
The Raiders have a 26-34 record since Nate Hobbs was drafted in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft, and there has been a lot of drama both on and off the field. Hobbs believes that there is very little the team hasn’t experienced — and overcome.
“I’ve been with this team through so much, thick and thin, it’s just football at the end of the day,” Hobbs said. “That’s what we get paid to do. That’s what it is, our profession at the end of the day, it’s football. I’ve been through so many things off the field with this team.
But as long as it’s happening on the field, we got a chance to change that narrative. We get to come here every day. It’s not life and death. It’s not sickness and health — it’s football.”
Unfortunately, the Raiders have struggled on the field, especially with their offense, which is one of the worst in the league. Their rushing game is the worst in the NFL, with only 692 yards this season, averaging just 76.9 yards per game.
The top three running backs in the NFL have more rushing yards than the Raiders’ entire team. Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs (762 yards), who was drafted by the Raiders in 2019, has more yards than all of Las Vegas’ running backs combined.
The quarterback situation is also a concern for Pierce. He is considering whether to stick with Gardner Minshew, who has underperformed, or try newly acquired Desmond Ridder.
Neither of them has shown they can be a franchise quarterback, and second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell, who is recovering from a broken thumb, is expected to return in about a month.
Whoever is the starting quarterback won’t have a true No. 1 receiver when the team plays again in Miami on Nov. 17, after the Raiders traded Davante Adams to the New York Jets last month.
On defense, Las Vegas has been allowing 27.9 points per game, ranking near the bottom of the league, ahead of only Jacksonville, Dallas, and Carolina. Hobbs believes things can improve if the Raiders return from their bye week with the right mindset.
“Every man comes into work to do their job, to execute their job, and do it to the best of their ability,” Hobbs said. “I only say that because I know when this team does that, how good of a team we are. We’re that same team that beat the Kansas City Chiefs. We’re the same team that beat the Baltimore Ravens.
“So if we could come with the details to do our job every single day, to execute them, I have no doubts about what we will do in this next stretch of the season.”
