The Raiders won"t make their decision on their next coach until after the season, but there"s no question who the locker room wants as their next coach.
Antonio Pierce has made quite an impression in his short time as interim head coach, and things appear to be shaping up in Las Vegas the same way they did two years ago when the locker room was screaming for a Rich Bisacci move.
We know Pierce is getting paid for the job, but if he doesn"t get it, it looks like the next general manager and head coach will find themselves in something of a hornet"s nest…
“If things continue like this and Mark Davis doesn"t hire [Antonio Pierce], there"s going to be a revolt,"
Sports Illustrated"s Hondo Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast this week.
Sounds like the #Raiders locker room really wants to keep their head coach.
"If things continue the way they are and Mark Davis doesn’t hire [Antonio Pierce], he’s going to have a mutiny,"https://t.co/WdHQJXGLdM
— Raiders Beat (@RaidersBeat) November 29, 2023
Of course, players don"t have control over the team, but some do have control over themselves. Josh Jacobs will be a free agent after the season, and although Davante Adams has three years left on his contract, he will have enough impact to force the Raiders to trade him (more on that in a few weeks).
An ESPN report last week all but explained the reasons for his departure.
Antonio Durran Pierce (born October 26, 1978) is an American football coach and former linebacker who is the interim head coach and linebackers coach for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as an assistant coach at Arizona State.
Pierce played nine seasons as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL), and he won a Super Bowl playing with the New York Giants in the 2007 season. He played college football for the Arizona Wildcats and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Washington Redskins, and later played for the Giants.
Regardless of how the Raiders" coaching situation plays out, there will be something to keep an eye on. “Rebellion" is a strong word, but there"s no doubt that things could get interesting if Pierce is released at the end of the season.
Finally…If the locker room really wants Pierce to continue as head coach, the solution probably isn"t that complicated, all they need to do is keep winning.
Fans expressed their opinion as follows:
What has he done to have even a chance to be our full time hc
— . (@EndzoneEdwards) November 29, 2023
He is awful… the offense play calling is even worse
— Westy (@SloppySailor12) November 29, 2023
We need to keep him. The players want him. That's a big thing
— 🐈Cat Fan Forever 🐈 (@katfan4eva) November 29, 2023
I'm not sure we can take everything Hondo says on his podcasts as fact. I like him, appreciate his reporting, but his podcast feels a little loose with his comments sometimes.
— Eric ☠️ (@audio_fish) November 29, 2023
Hes the future. Keep AP
— Jman7614 (@jman7614) November 29, 2023
I haven’t really seen shit out of him outside of the fact he can beat the worst teams in the league. I get they like him, but he’s not a head coach.
— Michael brajkovich (@Michaelbrajkov3) November 29, 2023
If AP wants to keep his job, maybe he should notify his OL unit that smash mouth, run it down your throat, all guts no glory, old style Raider football is back. When they need a yard, the OL seems to fall short of that philosophy and the play calling is reflective.
— Barry Inoue (@barry_inoue) November 29, 2023
If things continue the way they are? What….scoring 17 points a game. Needs to show more in the last 5 games to keep the job. Coming out strong and petering out every game isn’t going to cut it.
— Mike 🇮🇹 (@75BigMike) November 29, 2023
We lost to two elite teams with a rookie qb and had a shot to win both nothing to be upset about, I’m happy to finally have a coach who beats crap teams when we are supposed to
— Tom (@augus_vincent) November 29, 2023
No he won't
The locker room wanted to keep Rich and Mark did not.
Mark will do what Mark wants to do— J (@JcRaiderman) November 29, 2023
