Getty Image
Fool Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis once, shame on you.
But fool him twice…he won’t get fooled again.
Davis made the mistake of not hiring interim head coach Rich Bissacia in 2022. This time around, he made no such mistake, removing Antonio Pierce‘s interim tag and making him the full-time head coach of Raiders in 2024.
Raiders are working to finalize a deal to hire Antonio Pierce as their head coach, per sources.
Raiders made Pierce their interim HC on Halloween night and now are closing in on making it a full-time job. Players who campaigned for Pierce soon are expected to be happy. pic.twitter.com/OAJTur9ZJ0
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2024
After a horrific start to the 2023 season, Pierce took over for the fired Josh McDaniels and led Las Vegas to a 5-4 record over its last nine games of the year.
“There’s only 32 [NFL] head coaches in the whole world,” Raiders star defensive end Maxx Crosby previous said of Pierce.. “So you’ve got to find a leader of men. And when you’ve got one of them in the building currently, I don’t know why you would let them go.”
Superstar wideout Davante Adams also made the case for Pierce.
“It’s obviously who I want. That’s my vote and I’ve been vocal about that. That’s basically how the whole locker room feels and with good reason,” Adams told reporters ahead of the season finale against the Denver Broncos. “He’s come in and done a great job. He’s continued to win us over. It’s not just the comfortable thing. I think having AP here will be good for this organization.
“He kind of embodies what it means to be a Raider, that mentality, that swag. All the things that he endorses is the things that I believe in,” Adams, who notched 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight season this year, said. It’s his second year on the Raiders after being traded from the Green Bay Packers. “It’s easy for a guy like me, especially having dealt with him a little bit this year now and gotten to know him and see his evolution in front of the team, all those things, all the different fields of being a head coach, so definitely rooting for him.”
Pierce has work to do. He must hire a new offensive coordinator and figure out Las Vegas’ quarterback situation. But it’s clear he has buy in from his players. And that’s a pretty darn good place to start.