Josh Jacobs Tweeted and Deleted a Reaction to His New Coach's Hiring That Doesn't Bode Well for Josh McDaniels

Ezra Shaw. Getty Images.

In the harshly brutal, unforgiving ecosystem that is being an NFL assistant, shots to be a head coach are few and far between. And among those who are fortunate enough to be they toy selected out of the bunch by the Great Claw of Career Opportunity:

… second chances are also rare. Third chances are almost unheard of. And even they require some level of success somewhere, such as Pete Carroll earning his third pro job by winning at USC. 

And so it is that Josh McDaniels is getting his second, and one would assume, last opportunity in Las Vegas.

And so this is, for all intents and purposes, his final shot. He'll get as long a leash as his long time colleague with the Patriots Dave Zeigler can give him as the Raiders new GM. But he can't afford another fiasco like the short stint he had with the Broncos a dozen years ago. He'll have to win fairly soon or probably need to accept life as a coordinator from now until the end of his days. Which means he'll likely need to get off to good start. As the Instagram bios and decorative wall hangings put it, with Good Vibes Only. 

Yeah, about that. So far it would appear the RB1 McDaniels offense will go through is not feeling it:

Heavy - The Las Vegas Raiders have … finalized a contract with Josh McDaniels to be the Raiders’ new head coach, replacing interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. 

It seems one Raider might not be too thrilled with the news. 

Running back Josh Jacobs tweeted a grimacing face emoji on January 30 and then quickly deleted it, but not before it was captured by another Twitter user.

Jacobs had previously praised the sideline vibe instilled by Bisaccia.

Doug Williams, who worked with Bisaccia in Tampa Bay from 2004 to 2008, also seemed to support Jacobs’ appraisal of Bisaccia. “Honestly, there’s not a player … on any team that hasn’t loved playing for Rich,” Willams told USA Today’s Mike Allen in October 2021. “He knows how to talk to men and get the most out of them.”

Oof. Like they say, you never get a second chance to make a good first impression. That's doubly true when you're starting a new job. And exponentially more difficult when the person you're replacing was generally respected and admired, which seems to have been the case with Rich Bisaccia. 

It's possible there's nothing to this. Maybe Jacobs thought he was responding to something else. Or he meant to hit the Smiley Face or ROFL or Monocle Wearing emoji and his thumb hit Grimacing by accident. Ye who is without clumsy thumbs, let him cast the first stone. Besides, he deleted it. But nothing is ever truly gone on social media. 

Regardless, this is something to watch out for in the days, weeks, months, practices and games ahead for McDaniels. I want him to succeed. He's been a loyal soldier in New England. To the point that the first time he left, the door was open for him to come back. But if his best running back liked Bisaccia so much that he's grimacing at the new McDaniels is replacing him, then you have to wonder if others share his opinion. Even if McDaniels struggles in Denver came when most of his players were in middle school, he came out of that mess with a lot of damage to his reputation. And if guys don't like him the way they did Bisacci, then he might be walking into a situation like Idris Elba did when he took over Dunder-Mifflin Scranton from Michael Scott. 

So best of luck to a very good coordinator. If this deleted Tweet really is an indication, he's gonna need it.