Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was on the show “The Pivot Podcast” with Ryan Clark, Fred Taylor, and Channing Crowder where he talked about how he talks to his top players like stars Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby. He said candidly to the hosts of the podcast that while they are all cool with each other, he is still their head coach and will call them out.
“My position was set on November 1st, just because we talk and we’re cool, there’s still a chain of command,” Pierce said. “There’s still a level of respect as Te [Davante Adams] knows, there's a certain level for effort. Te can tell you, I’ve called him out several times during the season.”
Pierce honest in giving different treatment to “top dawgs” on Raiders
He made it clear to the hosts of the show that he will talk more harshly to players like Adams and Crosby who are the “top dawgs” on the team unlike a player like “Malcolm Koonce out” who he mentioned. However, he said because of the way he interacts with his players, it is the reason he was selected to be the head coach full time for Las Vegas after being in an interim position after Josh McDaniels was fired in the middle of the season.
“Hell yeah, hey you the best Te? You the best receiver in the NFL, hell yeah AP, well than s— you didn’t show up last Sunday. Max you the best D-end in football, well goddamn Patrick Mahomes didn’t feel you every play. So there’s no hiding, there's no gray, it’s not like I go call Malcolm Koonce out, I'm not gonna call a practice squad out, I’m going to top dawgs,” Pierce said. “I’m going to my guys with the capes on. My superheros that’s what I called them, those are my superheroes, those are the ones that are difference makers, right those are the ones that change the game. If you can’t address and talk to them first, I wouldn’t even be sitting in this position, and that’s why I’m sitting in this position because of the respect that we have for one another and an understanding that we were cool, I'm still cool but im the head coach, if you’re late, you get a nice envelope from the Raiders.”
A tough challenge for Raiders in loaded division
The star receiver in Adams caught 103 passes for 1,144 yards and eight touchdowns last season to continue with his impressive career. For one of the better defensive ends in the league in Crosby, he recorded 14.5 sacks with the Raiders to go along with 55 solo tackles.
Pierce was 5-4 with the Raiders as interim head coach and received staunch support from his players to return full-time which the organization ended up doing. In a loaded AFC West filled with the Super Bowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers who just hired Jim Harbaugh as their head coach, Pierce will have his hands filled next season to say the least.
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