LAS VEGAS -- Josh McDaniels downplayed the significance of getting his first win as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders against the last team he worked for as a head coach in the Denver Broncos.
But Raiders quarterback Derek Carr made sure McDaniels at least had a memento of the Raiders' 32-23 victory Sunday. Carr presented McDaniels, who has six Super Bowl rings as an assistant with the New England Patriots, with a game ball in Las Vegas' locker room.
"I said, 'I know you've got a lot of wins, at the other place [in New England], but this is your first one here,'" Carr said after the Raiders improved to 1-3 on the season.
"So, I was able to do that and it was a special moment for me to be able to hand that to him. I've done that for all the coaches that have been here when it was their first one, so I thought that would be right to do it for him."
"That was a damn good hard-fought victory in the division."
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) October 3, 2022
Coach McDaniels gets the game ball from @derekcarrqb 🙌 pic.twitter.com/7CHOdPvtTD
For Carr, that means he has presented game balls to: Tony Sparano in 2014, Jack Del Rio in 2015, Jon Gruden, in his return to the franchise in 2018, Rich Bisaccia last season and, now, McDaniels.
McDaniels, meanwhile, was 32 years old when Denver hired him and he served as the Broncos' head coach for 28 games in 2009 and 2010. After a 6-0 start, he lost 12 of 17 games in Denver before being fired. He then served as the Rams' offensive coordinator in 2011 before returning to New England in the same capacity a year later.
He was hired by the Raiders in January and said Sunday he had no "ill will" toward the Denver organization.
"They gave me a great opportunity at a young age and, if anything, I look at it like it was a blessing because I learned so much from it," McDaniels said. "That made me better and I've been forever grateful to Mr. [Pat] Bowlen for what he gave me an opportunity to do. Unfortunately, I didn't do well enough with it, but hopefully I've learned from it."
Rather, McDaniels said, he is enjoying winning a game against an AFC West rival.
"We don't like any of those guys," he said with a smile. "That's the sweet part for us. I didn't want to make this about me. This is just our team trying to hold our home turf here against another division opponent."
Sunday's victory was McDaniels' first win as a head coach since Nov. 14, 2010, against the Chiefs.