The magic that Antonio Pierce captured during his stint as the Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach last season has completely disappeared. He went 5-4 to end the 2023 season but is off to a 2-7 start this year.
It was a risky move to give the full-time head coaching job to somebody who had only been coaching at the NFL level for two years. The risk is not paying off and it’s looking possible and Pierce will be one and done.
Former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon seems to think so. The former MVP appears to be completely out on Pierce.
“At some point you have to look at the whole operation. I’m hoping that’s what is going to happen at the end of the season,” Gannon said on “VSiN Live.” “I can’t imagine Antonio Pierce will be back next year.”
Gannon knows the Raiders organization well. He was their starting quarterback for six years and has remained in their orbit. However, it’s far from a guarantee that owner Mark Davis will fire Pierce. He’s gone through four coaches since 2021 and may not be particularly eager to launch another coaching search. The season will need to get even worse for Pierce’s job to be in serious jeopardy.
Is Mark Davis Getting Good Advice?
Davis is honest about the fact that he’s not super knowledgeable about football. He never played, coached or worked in a front office. Despite this, he’s the one who has been in charge of hiring the Raiders’ head coaches outside of Dennis Allen.
Gannon questions who Davis is getting advice from for him to consistently make the wrong head coaching hires.
“I don’t know who he is listening to,” Gannon said. “Mark has had a lot of people in his ears over the years. I don’t know he’s listening to and if he’s getting the right advice.”
With Tom Brady now a part owner of the Raiders, Davis’ advisors could change. He’ll likely lean on the legendary quarterback to help solve the issues that have plagued the franchise for over two decades now. Brady is as competitive as they come so it’s unlikely that he’ll stand idly by while the Raiders continue to make the wrong decisions.
What Will It Take for Antonio Pierce to Get Fired?
The Raiders are not a good football team under Pierce right now. He’s already fired much of the offensive coaching staff that he hired less than a year ago. The fact that he couldn’t put together a competent coaching staff is a major red flag.
The fact that Brady is now in the fold can’t help Pierce. He has no loyalty to the coach and could push Davis to make a change for somebody with more experience.
However, Pierce can still save his job. The Raiders have eight games left. If they can win at least three of them, he’ll probably be safe. If Las Vegas goes winless the rest of the season, it’s hard to imagine Pierce will get another chance.
The Raiders need stability at head coach but they can’t keep somebody who is in over his head just because they don’t want to keep making changes.
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