LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After a weather delay, the Hall of Fame game is underway with the Las Vegas Raiders facing the Jacksonville Jaguars.
It's a game that's rich in history and tradition. However, this one will mean more for Raiders head coach, Josh McDaniels.
Canton, Ohio is not just home to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, it's also the hometown of McDaniels, a place where he found his love for the game.
From playing on the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium as the quarterback at McKinley High School to now coaching on the sidelines as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, it's a full circle moment for McDaniels.
"I played all my games in this stadium, and it was never lost on me that this is a special place. They have helmets on the double yellow lines when you are driving down the road. You pass the Hall of Fame every day when you go to school in high school," McDaniels said. "You're playing right there, and you can see it over the stands. Like I said, it's a really cool place to grow up."
It's a field that holds significant meaning for the McDaniels family as Josh was coached by his father, Thom, in high school.
"It will be, really, an experience," McDaniels said. "'Surreal' is probably a good word for it, thinking that he was coaching me and correcting me and calling plays for me many, many years ago, and then my brother played after myself. My family has spent a lot of nights there over many, many years, so it's a special place for us."
From representing the black and red as a high school quarterback, then switching to the silver and black as an NFL head coach, McDaniels believes this is a dream come true.
"It was a great place to be a young boy that loved football, and what a blessing that I have an opportunity to come back there and do it," McDaniels said. "I never would have dreamed that this would have happened."
A total of 28 Raiders have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. With Cliff Branch and Richard Seymour heading in this weekend, the Raiders will have a total of 30 players in the hall.
