Head coach Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders are currently in the midst of what figures to be a highly important offseason as for the future direction of the franchise following a relatively disappointing 2023-24 season that resulted in the team once again falling short of the NFL playoffs. It was a whirlwind of a season last year for Pierce, who the Raiders named interem head coach following the dismissal of Josh McDaniels and then named their full time head coach earlier this offseason.
Pierce profiles as one of the brightest young coaches in the league with his enthusiasm and knowledge of the game, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, but at the present moment, his mind may be more focused on his pockets after a recent revelation in court.
Recently, it was unearthed that Pierce's wife Jocelyn had filed for bankruptcy in Arizona, stating that “lenders owed those judgments have attempted to satisfy their judgments from the couple’s assets. The motion goes on to state that two of those lenders — Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation (holding a $23 million judgment) and Hyundai Capital America (holding a $4.5 million judgment) — recently attempted to garnish Antonio’s wages with the Raiders,” reported Tashan Reed of The Athletic.
Reed reported that the filing states that Pierce “was convinced to become a “'passive investor' in the car dealerships in the 2010s. According to the filing, personal guarantees were later produced that included his name. After several of the businesses he invested in defaulted on their loans, the lenders obtained judgments against their guarantors, which included Antonio.”
This all comes together to judgements of over $28 million against Pierce.
A bright future in Las Vegas
Meanwhile, on the field, there is at least some room for cautious optimism about the Raiders' chances going forward. This year, the team used their first round draft pick to select tight end Brock Bowers out of the University of Georgia. Bowers just finished up what was arguably the greatest college for a career in tight end in the history of the sport, helping lead the Bulldogs to two straight national championships in 2021-22 and 2022-23 and establishing himself as one of the best players in the game during his tenure in Athens.
Of course, the biggest question for the Raiders at the present moment is who will be their quarterback going into the 2023-24 season. Right now, the answer that question would appear to be Aidan O'Connell, who Antonio Pierce named as the starting quarterback going forward shortly after his tenure began in October of last season. O'Connell took over the starting job for Jimmy Garroppolo, who has since moved on to join the Los Angeles Rams and back up Matthew Stafford.
Over the course of last year, O'Connell showed the youth and inexperience that one would expect in a young quarterback but did display some flashes of potential that could possibly manifest in this coming season if given the opportunity.
In any case, the Raiders' season is set to get underway in early September.
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