The Las Vegas Raiders have their next head coach, and as it turns out, it’s the guy who has been at the helm ever since Josh McDaniels got fired. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN and Ian Rapoport and Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the Raiders decided to remove the interim title from Antonio Pierce, making him the franchise’s next coach.
Raiders are working to finalize a deal to hire Antonio Pierce as their head coach, per sources.
Raiders made Pierce their interim HC on Halloween night and now are closing in on making it a full-time job. Players who campaigned for Pierce soon are expected to be happy. pic.twitter.com/OAJTur9ZJ0
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2024
The new #Raiders coach: Antonio Pierce.
Players will be psyched. And now Maxx Crosby doesn’t need to ask to be traded. pic.twitter.com/x3UrMKfMtu
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 19, 2024
Interim no more: The #Raiders are working on a deal with Antonio Pierce to retain him as the 23rd head coach in franchise history, sources tell me and @RapSheet
After going 5-4 down the stretch, Pierce gets the full-time job, which is welcome news to many, including Maxx Crosby. pic.twitter.com/w8vaZgY1QV
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) January 19, 2024
Pierce, who previously served as the team’s linebacker coach, ascended to the interim role after the Raiders decided to fire Josh McDaniels midway through the 2023 season. While he was unable to get them to the postseason, Pierce was able to go 5-4 and breathed some much-needed life into the roster, which was most prominently on display during Las Vegas’ 63-21 win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
It was reported during the team’s search that the locker room rallied around Pierce, with some reports indicating that standout defensive end Maxx Crosby could request a trade in the event that someone else got the job. This is not the first time that the Raiders had the chance to promote a popular interim coach, as the team went 7-5 under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia in 2021 but opted to go in a different direction and hire McDaniels the following offseason.
Prior to taking over the Raiders, Pierce’s only head coaching experience came at the helm of California high school football powerhouse Long Beach Poly.
