Maxx Crosby, Davante Adams and Josh Jabobs have all endorsed Antonio Pierce as a candidate to become the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.The players will get their hopes up as Pearce completes a deal to become full-time manager.
Pierce became the interim head coach when Josh McDaniels was fired after Week 8. The atmosphere around the Raiders immediately changed. Given that McDaniels was one of the NFLPA’s worst head coaches after the 2022 season and the team’s “no-advertisement” meeting was the last straw before he was fired, that may not be a huge hurdle to overcome. .Culture is important.
That’s especially true for coaches like Pierce, who don’t call plays, but don’t stop at changing the culture. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if Pierce had just improved the atmosphere in the locker room a bit, but there was a definite change in the game under his watch.Under McDaniels, the Raiders were 3-5 with a -61 point differential and -8 turnover differential. For Pierce, the Raiders are 5-4 with a +62 point differential and a +6 turnover margin.
Improvement in the second half of the season does not guarantee success next season. But Pierce had a practical reason for this improvement.And while it’s hard to know how successful a new manager will be, there are already examples of Pierce getting the job done.
Pierce immediately received buy-in from key players on the roster, which helped him achieve the interim tag.The Raiders will be very excited about this hire and what the future holds for them. But there are a few questions that need to be answered before this service can get off to a good start.
