A new report about a mandate coming from the top of the Las Vegas Raiders organization may be more evidence that Antonio Pierce will not hold on to his job after this season.
Following a strong finish to 2023 — including a win on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs — there was a lot of hope surrounding the Raiders this year. Interim head coach Antonio Pierce seemed to capture the hearts and minds of his players and Vegas fans in a way his predecessor Josh McDaniels never came close to doing.
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It is why he was given the full-time job earlier this year, and most around the league felt it was the right move. Well, things have changed in a major way over the last few months. Las Vegas enters their Week 14 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on an eight-game losing skid and tied for the worst record in the league. Suffice to say, year one for Pierce has been a massive disappointment.
There has always been a ton of volatility around the Raiders head coach job and that is why it should come as no surprise that there have been rumblings Pierce could be one and done. And this week, Sports Illustrated NFL insider Albert Breer pointed to a supposed front office mandate that could end Pierce’s run with the team.
- Las Vegas Raiders record: 2-10
Las Vegas Raiders have QB mandate in 2025 NFL Draft
“I’ve heard the football people there could be under a mandate to draft a quarterback in April,” Breer wrote in a new column. “And if that’s the plan, whoever the head coach is will have a pretty big impact on who that quarterback is, and how he develops early in his career. This makes the question of whether Mark Davis believes Pierce would be the right guy to captain the ship.”
Pierce is a defense-first coach after a memorable career as a linebacker in the NFL. And while the switch to Scott Turner to replace Luke Getsy, the latter was his first choice and he failed miserably. There is reason to wonder if he would be the right person to shepherd a young QB that the organization will use a premium draft pick on.
- Antonio Pierce record: 7-14
With Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson still out there, moving on from Pierce this offseason continues to seem like a strong possibility.
Related: Where does the Las Vegas Raiders offense land in our Week 14 NFL offense rankings?