Raiders' Mark Davis preaches patience, faith in GM Dave Ziegler

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis believes patience is a virtue regarding the franchise's direction and the tenure of general manager Dave Ziegler.

"Unfortunately, every time you change there is going to be changes that those people are going to see but you have to give them time to understand the changes," Davis said during the annual league meetings, per Vic Tafur of The Athletic. "I know that a lot of people can watch film and think that they know it all, but watching film doesn’t give you all the answers. You need to watch the games and be there to get the full picture. So, yeah, you gotta have patience." 

The Raiders hired Ziegler in January 2022, and he quickly named former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels as his head coach. While Ziegler traded for All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams and signed star defensive end Chandler Jones, the Raiders went 6-11 for the 2022 season and gave up on quarterback Derek Carr before the end of the campaign. 

Davis admitted to Tashan Reed of The Athletic that he "apologized to" Carr "for not being able to get it done" during the signal-caller's tenure with the organization that began when the Raiders selected him in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. Carr is now with the New Orleans Saints, while the Raiders are hoping former San Francisco 49ers starter Jimmy Garoppolo can take Las Vegas to more than just the playoffs. 

"Dave is young and has never been in this position before," Davis added about Ziegler during his comments. "It takes time to learn all the tricks of the trade. I think the people he confides in might not be giving him the full picture because it’s so damn competitive. But he’s going to be doing great." 

Davis also insisted that McDaniels "is one of the great offensive minds in football." That offensive mind will likely have to guide the Raiders to more than six wins in year two to earn such high praise from the club's owner next March.