Raiders coach Josh McDaniels and I were discussing the rights and wrongs of his first year in Las Vegas, and, at one point, in explaining how they’d fixed the latter, he pointed to a ceiling-to-floor whiteboard facing his desk.
On it was his remedy, in the form of characteristics he’s loading his locker room with.
“Smart, tough, mature, explosive,” he said, reading off the wall. “Eliminate distractions, and then tough, smart, mature, explosive. Right below that, love football, work hard, put the team first. That’s ultimately my vision for a team that’s going to be competitive over and over, that’s what [those teams] end up being. The distractions, as you know, if you have a bunch of them, it’s hard to navigate all that and win.
