Both McDaniels and Ziegler noted that the choice to join the Silver and Black was easy due to the organization’s history and the values aligned between them and the Raiders.
“For me to walk through this building and get a sense of the history and tradition of this organization and the impact that has on everyday life here, it really struck me,” McDaniels said. “It’s one of those iconic places. It’s a historic organization that has an incredible history and tradition. It’s in every hallway.”
“The stadium, the facilities, the weight room, the training room, the locker room, I could go on and on,” added Ziegler. “It brings to mind a phrase made famous by the late Al Davis, there really is a commitment to excellence when you walk into this building and when you walk into the stadium.”
Bringing in a head coach/general manager duo who knew each other was a bonus for Davis when deciding who would lead the Raiders’ next regime.
“I felt at that time we were going to do things a little bit differently and try to find a teammate,” Davis said of his hiring decision. “Therefore, in every interview we did with a head coach, we asked [the candidate] who he would think of as a general manager or general managers, and on the other side of the coin we asked that of every general manager [candidate], so, who would you think of as a head coach. It was such a learning and expanding process to hear about all these things, but we felt it was really important for them to have synergy.
“I couldn’t have found a better pair of people working together at John Carroll University than these two gentlemen.”
