The Las Vegas Raiders have hired Antonio Pierce their permanent head coach.
Henderson, Nevada The Las Vegas Raiders have selected Antonio Pierce as their new head coach.
After Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler were fired shortly after the NFL trade deadline at the end of October, Pierce, who is of Bermudian descent, was named the Raiders’ temporary head coach.
Owner of the Raiders Mark Davis had the option to wait and try to entice a coach from the very strong pool of available candidates, but he concluded that Pierce had proven himself worthy of a full-time position after taking over as interim coach on Halloween night.
The Raiders crossed off the phrase “interim” in a post on X, the social networking site that was once known as Twitter, to announce the appointment of Pierce as their new coach on Friday. Together with Art Shell, Tom Cable, and Marty Feldman, he is the fourth interim coach that the Raiders have promoted.
Since taking over, Pierce, 45, has gone 5-4, with the team’s overall record being 8-9.
Football player Jermaine Eluemunor of Las Vegas said on X, “I can’t think of anyone more deserving.” “In Vegas, there is only one way that needs to exist: the Raider way.”
Two years ago, Davis made an outside choice in McDaniels instead of player favorite Rich Bisaccia, who guided the Raiders on an incredible comeback to qualify for the playoffs.
Pierce had the players’ support from the beginning, just like Bisaccia did, but it remained to be seen if that would persuade Davis to appoint him. Thus, all of the players—including standout defensive end Maxx Crosby—kept up the pressure. This week, he stated that “nothing is off the table” on his end in the event that Pierce is not employed on his show, The Rush with Maxx Crosby.
On his podcast, Crosby stated, “AP doesn’t have a lot of experience as a head coach, but the reality is he’s come in and helped change the culture.”
He has improved our team’s performance overall and helped us win games. He has also elevated our defense to a new level. We need only a few more components to be competitive. That’s how we all feel. We believe that we
ought to be participating in the playoffs this weekend.
Also, Pierce gained the support of many fans. As the clock ran out in the season-ending 27-14 victory over the Denver Broncos, the crowd screamed “AP.”
The task of rebuilding a once-iconic team that has three Vince Lombardi titles but has missed the playoffs in 19 of the previous 21 seasons will fall to Pierce.
Davis was not allowed to hire Pierce prior to following the procedures set down by the NFL. In order to comply with the Rooney Rule, he had to conduct in-person interviews with a minimum of two external minority and/or female applicants. That was what he did.
Leslie Frazier, a former defensive coordinator for Buffalo, was interviewed by the Raiders. According to ESPN, the team also spoke with Kris Richard, a former co-defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints.
This hiring cycle, Pierce is the second Black coach to gain a top position. Jerod Mayo was elevated by the New England Patriots to take Belichick’s spot.
