Antonio Pierce was hired as the Raiders’ full-time coach in January 2024. It ended a period in which he held the role on an interim basis, during which he posted a 5-4 record.
His team finished 4-13 this season. It included a 10-game losing streak.
And now owner Mark Davis must decide whether to keep Pierce or move in a different direction.
And now Davis needs to move in a different direction.
Needs to find himself another coach.
When asked twice about his future Sunday after a 34-20 loss to the Chargers at Allegiant Stadium, Pierce offered only “no comment” both times.
A total overhaul
It’s not just him. The Raiders are in need of a total overhaul. They’re far more than just a quarterback from contending. The roster is one of the NFL’s worst. They’re young. They’ve had more than their share of injuries. It’s every bit of 4-13.
Pierce needs a much better grasp of game management decisions. He has struggled with them since being assigned the interim role. The Raiders need someone who has a better feel of all else that is merely motivating players — which Pierce is terrific at.
But you don’t want this to be a Matt Eberflus situation with the Bears, where you bring back a coach hoping he develops more and then end up firing him in midseason. It’s a risk to assume Pierce would get that much better along the sidelines.
This, in an AFC West with coaches named Andy Reid, Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton.
Pierce is just in a bad situation, little fault of his own. Should the Raiders fire him, it will be their fifth coach in four years, including interims. That’s bad.
Second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell has already had four offensive coordinators. That’s ridiculous.
Davis must take some blame. He missed with Josh McDaniels, and now Pierce offers a 9-17 record.
Davis said he would wait until season’s end to evaluate Pierce and wanted to see how the team competed the last few weeks of the season. Competing has never been an issue under Pierce.
No matter how dire things became with the Raiders, players continued to go hard for him. They continued to give maximum effort. They never let up.
It’s a testament to Pierce that such was the attitude. If he is brought back as coach, this is where you can begin to explain why. He never lost the locker room.
But that doesn’t mean change isn’t the best direction.
Fact: A win against the Chargers might have glossed over the real issues with this franchise — coaching, the need for a quarterback, lack of quality depth.
People might have become all warm and fuzzy about finishing with three straight wins, but the Chargers did everyone a favor by exposing some obvious deficiencies. They outclassed the Raiders at every turn.
And the Chargers are only going to get better in the coming years.
“It’s not even just (Pierce),” wide receiver Jakobi Meyers said. “It’s everybody. We know that everybody is on the line. We’re all trying to show that we want to stick around, including (Pierce) in that bunch. We all want to be here.”
Pierce is probably a wonderful position coach with such motivational tactics. Players love him.
Seen the results
The Raiders, however, have also lacked a true identity under him. Some of it because of injuries and inconsistency at quarterback. But he has also consistently struggled with in-game coaching decisions.
“He connects with the players,” cornerback Jack Jones said. “He’s just someone you can respect, somebody you can look up to and has done it and been in your shoes. It’s an understanding about him throughout the building. I’ll go to bat for him every time.”
It’s the main reason Antonio Pierce was handed the job in the first place. Players wanted him. Davis obliged.
But 26 games later, we’ve seen the results.
A different direction is needed.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.