Things didn’t go the way the Las Vegas Raiders wanted last season. However, head coach Antonio Pierce took over in the middle of the year and impressed owner Mark Davis. Even though the honeymoon is over and Pierce will have to produce results in 2024, he said he’s comfortable with the task ahead.
“I honestly don't feel any pressure,” Pierce told raiders.com. “We're prepared. We're ready. We have a very stern agenda of what we're going to get done here over the next 17 days. I don't feel any pressure at all and I know our players don't.”
Pierce said he doesn't use pressure tactics to run his team. Therefore, he doesn't expect his players to feel pressure since he doesn't.
“We don't play that way, I'm not coaching that way, I'm not allowing our coaches to coach that way,” Pierce said. “We'll play the game the way I was taught to play it and that's to have fun, be physical, enjoy doing it, and doing it with one another.”
Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce more confident
Pierce played for nine seasons as a linebacker for the New York Giants and in Washington. Those days were tougher on him mentally, he said.
“I'm more confident (as a coach) because as a player, you didn't know what to expect,” Pierce said. “You were fighting for your life. Training camp back then was six weeks long, it was two-a-days and it hurt. Here, you can really gauge and control the tempo of your players and practice. You control the narrative, obviously, as a coach and I'm going to do what's best for the players.”
Pierce benefitted from getting his feet wet in 2023. He took over as interim head coach in the middle of the season and guided the Raiders to a 5-4 finish. He succeeded for the most part, especially considering how tough a situation he inherited.
Las Vegas got off to a terrible start, which cost head coach Josh McDaniels his job. Pierce took over and led the Raiders to rivalry wins over the Chargers and Chiefs. The 63-21 victory over the Chargers may have said more about the lack of effort from the opponent. But the Week 16 win over the Chiefs, a 20-14 decision, proved Pierce has a chance to be a good NFL head coach.
Certainly, the experts have taken notice. NFL insider Tom Pelissero said on The Rich Eisen Show that Pierce learned and evolved last season.
“The successful interim coaches are the ones who make an immediate impact and change things,” Pelissero said as reported by si.com. “A lot of times, that's just playing into what players want. Whatever the players complaints were, it's ‘yeah let's do those things.' It's going to make people feel like things are different around here.”
But now Pierce must make it work for a whole season from start to finish.
“It is a different type of a challenge for a guy like Antonio Pierce with the Raiders to be able to say, ‘Alright, now we're going to do it for the whole season.' ” Pelissero said. “Because there has to be more to it.”
What does Pierce have to work with?
It won’t be easy for Pierce to get the Raiders into the playoffs. They don’t have a franchise quarterback in a division with Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.
Certainly Pierce likes his defensive line. Stud tackle Christian Wilkins came on board from Miami to help star end Maxx Crosby. Also, Malcolm Koonce showed he’s capable of being a strong contributor. If second-year player Tyree Wilson steps up — the first-round pick struggled as a rookie — the Raiders could be among the NFL’s best up front.
However, the Raiders will go as far as the offensive line and quarterback Aidan O’Connell take them. The line looks shaky at best, and O’Connell ranked 28th out of 38 quarterbacks in 2023, according to Pro Football Focus. The Raiders are banking on this year’s first-round pick, Brock Bowers, to make things easier on O’Connell.
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