The Raiders’ selection of a new head coach will satisfy the players.
Two years ago, Mark Davis expressed sorrow for benching interim head coach Rich Bisaccia. Antonio Pierce will not be allowed to go by the owner. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders and Pierce are completing a deal for the linebackers coach-turned-interim leader to take over as the team’s permanent head coach. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, a contract has been finalized.
With his level of expertise, Pierce’s promotion to head coach will be among the most surprising in recent NFL history. However, Raiders players, led by Maxx Crosby, have pushed Davis to give Pierce a full-time position. After Crosby threatened to ask for a move if the Raiders took a different turn, the former Super Bowl-winning linebacker was seen as the favorite; Pierce is about to make a significant ascent. According to his X account, Crosby seems enthusiastic about the job.
Pierce’s elevation to head coach will rank among the most unexpected in recent NFL history given his caliber of experience. But Raiders players, especially Maxx Crosby, have been pressuring Davis to provide Pierce a full-time job. The former Super Bowl-winning linebacker was thought to be the frontrunner after Crosby promised to seek for a trade if the Raiders went a different direction; Pierce is set to make a big move. His X account indicates that Crosby is excited about the position.
Pierce has been spotted by other clubs as well. Interview requests were sent out by the Falcons and Titans; the interim Raiders leader had a virtual interview with the Titans last week. The Raiders are making one of the riskier HC decisions in NFL history as interest has grown. It will now be necessary to appoint a general manager, and the Raiders are likely considering maintaining their end-of-season arrangement given that interim boss Champ Kelly attended HC interviews. On the other hand, in order to adhere to the Rooney Rule, more applicants must be interviewed.
NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo reports that Tom Coughlin, Pierce’s former head coach with the Giants, would assist his former student in putting together a staff. Among the coaches who supported Pierce when the Raiders named him temporary head coach was Coughlin. Marvin Lewis is one name that should be on Pierce’s next Raiders roster. NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets that the former Bengals head coach, who worked with Pierce at Arizona State and assisted Coughlin and Adam Gase in supporting the rookie leader this season, is expected to become a full-time resident of Las Vegas.
Less than two years have passed since Pierce left his position as Arizona State’s co-defensive coordinator in response to an NCAA probe. After four seasons with the Sun Devils, he moved to a co-DC position in 2020. Shortly after leaving Arizona, McDaniels hired him as the Raiders’ linebackers coach. Pierce served as Long Beach Poly High’s head coach until 2017. Nevertheless, Pierce’s coaching background does not lag far behind that of incoming Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo. Even though Mayo has been seen as Bill Belichick’s heir apparent for at least two years, he didn’t start working with the Patriots on a full-time basis until 2019. Starring positions have been filled by linebackers from the 2000s and 2010s throughout this hiring period at HC.
