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Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce.
The Las Vegas Raiders have received rave reviews from current and former players for the hiring of Antonio Pierce as head coach. He went 5-4 in the interim role in 2023, impressed many with his leadership.
However, Fox Sports analyst Emmanuel Acho, a former NFL linebacker, said he had major reservations about the hire.
“Sixth grade, Mr. McCarran, my favorite substitute teacher is a math teacher,” Acho, who played in the league in 2013 and 2014, said on the January 19 episode of the “Speak” podcast. “My regular math teacher, he got sick. Mr. McCarran came in and it was fun. He was different. He found a better way to teach things. It was great. But then the teacher who got sick, he moved on, never taught again and Mr. McCarran became the permanent teacher. He wasn’t my favorite no more because jokes got tiresome after a while, those lesson plans got tiresome after a while. He became more agitated because now you’re no longer the substitute.
“So the expectations were higher. There became a lot more expectations of Mr. McCarran, and all of a sudden, what he was once great at just being a substitute … when he became the permanent he wasn’t that great anymore. Why the belief in Antonio Pierce, who now has to be the permanent teacher, he’s no longer to substitute? Now he’s a permanent head coach. Now he’s responsible for the roster. So if the roster don’t look good, it’s on him. Now he’s responsible for offseason team activities. So the team that starts the season great, it’s on him. Now we won’t look at 5-4 glowingly. We’ll look at 5-4 as a disappointment — that’s on him. Why the confidence that this will last and it won’t just be nine games because now your expectations real high?”
Antonio Pierce Had Support of the Locker Room
Pierce’s promotion to full-time coach was a good first step for the Raiders, according to The Ringer’s Austin Gayle, who likened the move to the Detroit Lions‘ 2021 hiring of Dan Campbell, a former player light on coaching experience who transformed the Lions into a winning team in just three seasons.
“So many coaches who have previously worked with Pierce have praised his mentality, leadership skills, and ability to communicate with players,” Gayle wrote in a story published January 21. “It’s a lot of the same things that were said about Campbell when he was hired. Pierce is a no-frills motivator. He says everything players want to hear, and players want to perform their best for him.”
At least one player, the Raiders’ star defensive end Maxx Crosby, stated his preference for Pierce, going so far as to suggest he’d consider asking for a trade if Pierce wasn’t retained, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero.
“There’s only 32 [NFL] head coaches in the whole world,” Crosby said ahead of the Raiders’ Week 18 finale, according to ESPN, “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.”
Next Step for Antonio Pierce: Finding New Coaches
If he can put together a good and experienced coaching staff, then Pierce appears to be set up for success.
According to Pelissero, Pierce is likely to bring in longtime Cincinnati Bengals coach Marvin Lewis in a full-time role. Lewis was an adviser at Arizona State University, where Pierce was coaching until the Raiders hired him midway through the 2023 season.
“Pierce brought in Lewis — who coached him in Washington — to help him after getting the interim job. Now Lewis is expected to be on staff in a more formal capacity,” Pelissero posted on X on January 19.
And Rapoport reported on the same day that much of the 2023 coaching staff would not be with the team in 2024.
“First task for #Raiders coach Antonio Pierce: Address the offensive side of the ball, as most coaches won’t be retained,” Rapoport posted on X. “Interim OC Bo Hardegree leaves Las Vegas with plenty of play-calling experience, helping this offense and its young QB thrive late this season. Now available.”
By hiring Pierce, the Raiders have moved away from hiring big names who eventually didn’t work out. As on outside-the-box hire, he could be what the team has been needing.
Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes look at “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd