The Las Vegas Raiders will ride their high spirits into a crucial midseason matchup with the New York Jets on Sunday, though some fans have questions about the distant future when it comes to Antonio Pierce’s chance to become the team’s full-time head coach.
After the Raiders fired Josh McDaniels along with general manager Dave Ziegler and offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi, they elevated Pierce to interim head coach.
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Davis talked about how he came to the decision on Pierce’s promotion via The Athletic’s Tashan Reed.
“I wasn’t very familiar with Antonio over the course of the last 1 1/2 years or so, but I’d gotten to know him a little bit,” Davis said. “When I saw Antonio’s background and resume, I was intrigued. So, when I sat down with him and interviewed him, I just felt he was the right guy at the right time to fit the role that I was looking for.”
Immediately, Pierce brought new energy to the locker room, and we saw it translate on the field in a 30-6 win over the New York Giants. After the game, it seemed as if Pierce was one of the guys in celebratory fashion.
Perhaps the label for Pierce’s coaching style is a “player’s coach,” but whatever you want to call it, his approach has certainly struck a chord with the locker room.
While no one is hanging championship banners in Henderson, Nevada, after a win over the 2-7 Giants, this team clearly looks different from the squad that lost 30-12 to the 2-7 Chicago Bears a few weeks ago.
With that said, does Pierce have a real shot at retaining the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching position in a full-time role?
Davis will keep an open mind about that looming decision.
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“This time, I don’t really have anybody in mind that would potentially prejudice my thinking, so to speak,” Davis said. “My thought process is wide open. And there’s a very good chance that the head coach and general manager that we have right now may end up getting the jobs.”
So, what would it take for Pierce to get the job? What factors does he have working for and against him?
Antonio Pierce’s direct pathway is ‘Just Win Baby’
Above all, Pierce can become the Raiders’ new head coach with an impressive record in an interim role. He’s 1-0 with eight games left on the schedule. If Las Vegas finishes the campaign with a winning record or clinches a playoff berth, Pierce has a good chance to hold on to his position.
Sure, many of you remember that the Raiders went 10-7 and advanced to the 2021 postseason under interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who went 7-5 after he replaced former head coach Jon Gruden, who resigned following a league investigation on the Washington Commanders that uncovered his past racist, homophobic and misogynistic emails.
Remember, Davis said he would have a different approach to his head-coaching search in the offseason and described his thought process as “wide open”. Two years ago, he had his mind set on McDaniels before the offseason, per Reed.
If the Las Vegas Raiders make the playoffs or go 6-3 to finish 9-8 under Pierce, it would be hard to argue against him as the front-running candidate for the job. Davis may not want to completely start over with a new coaching staff for the third time in six years, though hiring Pierce would be considered unorthodox in today’s league for reasons beyond his minimal pro-level coaching experience.
Retaining Pierce would be unprecedented for Las Vegas Raiders
The NFL’s current hiring trend works against Pierce. All of today’s NFL head coaches have been offensive or defensive coordinators, coached an offensive position or are retreads with a track record at the position.
Even Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel held a defensive coordinator position with the Minnesota Vikings and Houston Texans, respectively, before their current lead skipper roles. Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell was the Miami Dolphins’ interim head coach after the team fired Joe Philbin in 2015, leading the club to a 5-7 record.
In today’s NFL, teams look to hire successful coordinators, mostly offensive play-callers.
Pierce doesn’t have an offensive background. On top of that, he hasn’t been a defensive coordinator on the pro level. Pierce served as Arizona State’s defensive coordinator between 2020 and 2021 before he joined McDaniels’ staff.
You don’t see coaches make the leap from collegiate defensive coordinator or a defensive position coach to an NFL lead skipper. Late Hall of Famer John Madden made the transition from San Diego State (1964-66) defensive coordinator to Raiders linebackers coach (1967-68) and then to Raiders head coach (1969-78) in the 1960s, but that’s not what we see in the 2020s.
If Davis retains Pierce, he would be a one-of-a-kind head coach in the current league, though we know the Las Vegas Raiders haven’t shied away from doing things differently in their history.
Non-play-calling background can work in favor of or against Pierce
As mentioned, a majority of current NFL head coaches have called offensive or defensive plays on the pro level in past positions, or they have a hand in the play-calling with their current teams.
Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who has a special teams background, stands out as a CEO-type lead skipper in the league. He doesn’t call plays for the Ravens offense or defense and never had a coordinator position on either side of the ball.
Yet Harbaugh leads a perennial playoff contender.
Keep in mind that Harbaugh coached the Philadelphia Eagles’ special teams units between 1998 and 2006 before he accepted the Ravens’ head-coaching job, but Davis may take note of how a CEO-type lead skipper has worked out for Baltimore if he thinks Pierce is the right person for the job.
As a non-play-caller, Pierce cannot take significant credit for the success of his offense and defense, but he’s still responsible for crucial decisions during the game that impact both sides of the ball. For example, when to go for it on fourth down, managing the clock with timeouts, and most importantly, personnel management (who’s active and starting on game days).
While we’re going to hear about Pierce’s nonexistent background in a coordinator role and his minimal pro-level experience, he can solely focus on the big-picture decisions that coaches have to answer for at postgame press conferences.
If Pierce’s decision to start Aidan O’Connell helps turn the offense around and his players continue to respond well to his coaching style in a winning fashion, Davis must take those factors into consideration.
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No one is going to nitpick Pierce’s play-calling because those are questions and concerns for offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree and defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. If the Raiders show progress in their bottom-line results, Pierce can overcome his light coaching resume to become the Las Vegas Raiders’ new head coach.
Ultimately, Pierce has to be able to show Davis that the Raiders have made enough progress on his watch in a half-season, and there’s reason to believe progression will continue in the coming years. Pierce doesn’t need play-calling prowess, he needs player development and wins.
Maurice Moton covers the Raiders for Sportsnaut. You can follow him on Twitter at @MoeMoton.