Raiders Interim HC Antonio Pierce Building Momentum For Full-Time Job

Ian Rapoport reports that Raiders owner Mark Davis is taking notice of how different things seem to be under interim HC Antonio Pierce, which includes a 2-0 record so far. 

Rapoport adds Davis has been blown away by the change in energy in the building since firing former HC Josh McDaniels and promoting Pierce, even noting the most recent win over the Jets felt like a true home game for the first time in a while. 

Davis consulted the opinions of some of his players when deciding to move on from McDaniels, and players have given him significant positive feedback on Pierce and what they think the team is capable of over the rest of the season. 

Rapoport points out Davis made the decision to move on from a popular interim coach whom the players supported when he hired McDaniels and allowed Rich Bisaccia to leave. That could impact how he handles things with Pierce. 

Rapoport notes Davis hasn’t provided any clear benchmarks of what Pierce would need to do but he’s off to a good start. 

Pierce, 45, played nine seasons in the NFL for Washington and the Giants. After retiring in 2010, Pierce took his first coaching job at Long Beach Poly high school in 2014.

Pierce was eventually hired as the LB coach at Arizona State under Herm Edwards in 2017. He worked his way up to associate head coach/defensive coordinator/recruiting coordinator but resigned amidst an investigation for recruiting violations. 

He landed with the Raiders as their LB coach in 2022 and was promoted to interim head coach after Las Vegas fired Josh McDaniels.

For his career, Pierce recorded 691 tackles, nine sacks, eight forced fumbles, 10 recoveries and seven interceptions over the course of nine seasons and 124 games.

We’ll have more on the Raiders as the news is available.