In a rather surprising move, the Raiders fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy along with offensive line coach James Cregg and quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello following the team’s Week 9 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Getsy was hired in the offseason shortly after the team announced Antonio Pierce would be taking over full-time head coaching duties. He was the OC for the Chicago Bears for two years before signing in Vegas. The Raiders rank 26th in points per game and 29th in total yards this season. It’s been difficult to watch this team on either side of the ball, but now they will get some fresh faces in the coaching room.
It would be a bit unfair to heap all of Vegas’ offensive woes on Getsy. Quarterback is the most important position in football, and the Raiders continue to neglect it. They spent on Gardner Minshew in the offseason, rolled with Aidan O’Connell as the primary backup, and brought in Desmond Ridder last week. That equates to arguably the worst QB room in football. Star WR Davante Adams was only available for three games before being traded to the New York Jets. The RB room was decimated after Josh Jacobs bolted in the offseason. Vegas’ best offensive weapon is a rookie in TE Brock Bowers. That’s not going to get it done.
However, it’s not like Getsy didn’t have a hand in some of their issues. Minshew will never be confused with an All-Pro quarterback, but he’s played the worst football of his career this season. The 28-year-old QB has a career TD% of 4.0 and INT% of 1.9. In ’24, his TD% has dipped to 2.7 and his INT% has nearly doubled to 3.6. RB Zamir White ended last season strong, averaging nearly 100 yards per game for the four weeks. In ’24, White entered the season as the team’s starting running back and hasn’t rushed for over 50 yards in a single contest.
It doesn’t help that Vegas’ top OC candidate in the offseason — Kliff Kingsbury — has found immediate success in Washington. It was reported that the Raiders and Kingsbury reached a deal to add the former Cardinals head coach to Pierce’s staff. A snag in contract negotiations led to no such deal, and Kingsbury landed with the Commanders while the Raiders settled on Getsy. Kingsbury has crafted a top-5 offense with a rookie quarterback in Jayden Daniels. Seeing Kingsbury flourish could have factored in Vegas’ decision to act quickly on Getsy.
With Getsy gone, the Raiders have to tab a new play-caller. The early favorite is passing game coordinator Scott Turner. Turner was an offensive coordinator for three seasons with the previously mentioned Washington Commanders (’20-’22) after a one-year stint as OC of the Carolina Panthers. His offenses have never finished higher than 20th in PPG in four seasons. He has plenty of experience dealing with a mediocre QB room. In his time as OC, Turner has built game plans for Taylor Heinicke, Carson Wentz, Kyle Allen, and Will Grier, among others.
Turner is the son of famed offensive mind Norv Turner, who will be joining the Raiders staff in an assistant role. Turner won two Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and was the Raiders head coach in ’04 and ’05. The 72-year-old hasn’t been in the NFL since working as a special assistant for the Panthers in 2019. The team hopes adding a respected mind like Turner to the staff can help ignite major improvements offensively.
The new-look Raiders will look to take steps forward over the second half of the season. Pierce’s first year as the full-time head coach has been rocky. If this move to oust Getsy ends up making the offense look even worse, Pierce’s role could come into question.
