After watching how the team performed early on under the guidance of Josh McDaniels, it’s hard to view the Las Vegas Raiders’ turnaround under coach Antonio Pierce as anything other than impressive.
Under Coach McDaniels, the Raiders had a win rate of 36%. Under Coach Pierce, it’s spiked to 50%, albeit in a smaller sample size.
But we’ve been here before, particularly in Las Vegas, where Rich Bisaccia took over a 3-2 team and went 7-5 the rest of the way, earning a Wild Card playoff berth for the Raiders. Despite his impressive work, Bisaccia did not land the full-time coaching position after the front office decided to hire McDaniels instead.
Will the Raiders take the same approach as team owner Mark Davis took two years ago?
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has heard from several NFL sources who believe Davis will “likely take a big swing or two” at hiring big-named head coaching candidates this offseason. The belief is that if Davis isn’t able to connect on any of those Hail Mary attempts, Pierce would then become the favorite for the vacancy.
As far as who those big swings may be? Michigan’s Jim Harbaugh comes to mind. New England’s Bill Belichick is another.
Yet, those are just two of the most experienced options that may become available. There are always other top NFL head coaching candidates who have yet to receive their first opportunity, like Detroit’s Ben Johnson and several others.
Plus, it’s not like Davis can just hire Pierce without interviewing at least one other candidate first to satisfy the Rooney Rule. In other words, there are plenty of complicating factors that could get in the way of Pierce becoming the Raiders’ head coach in 2024.
Related: NFL insider names Dallas Cowboys as a team who may be ‘motivated’ to hire Bill Belichick