As the end of the 2023 NFL season drew near, the Las Vegas Raiders fired Josh McDaniels and promoted defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce to fill the role. But it was only supposed to be on an interim basis. Yet, after Pierce got better results than McDaniels did, going 5-4 compared to 3-5, the Raiders decided to give the former NFL linebacker a shot at the full-time head coaching job.
Unfortunately, the Raiders were unable to find a better quarterback, sticking Coach Pierce with Gardner Minshew III, Aidan O’Connell, and Desmond Ridder. To no surprise, the Raiders had another down year, finishing 4-13 and earning the sixth overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Yet, few expected the team to be so impatient with their inexperienced head coach. However, it’s clear that Raiders owner Mark Davis doesn’t want to waste any more time. He wants to win, now.
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Antonio Pierce fired from Las Vegas Raiders after 4-13 season
According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the Las Vegas Raiders have fired Antonio Pierce, capping off his head coaching record at 9-17. Despite getting a full season to work with, Pierce couldn’t even top last year’s win total, when he got just nine games to show what he could do.
So, after a four-win season, the Raiders are making another head coaching change, and will be kicking off their interviews in the very near future. Some, like The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, indicate that future Hall of Fame quarterback, and Raiders minority owner Tom Brady will have a “lot of influence” over who Las Vegas hires to coach the team next.
It will be interesting to see how much influence Tom Brady will have in this next Raiders coaching search.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) January 7, 2025
I’m told it will be a lot.
Naturally, this will lead to several rumors about his former New England Patriots teammate Mike Vrabel taking over in Vegas. However, he’s also believed to be drawing interest from the Patriots to fill their vacancy too, giving Vrabel a lot to think about. Yet, the Patriots at least have a franchise QB in Drake Maye, whereas the Raiders do not.
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