The Las Vegas Raiders aren’t going to be making the playoffs this season, as their Week 17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts sealed their fate. However, they lasted that long in the playoff race in large part to interim head coach Antonio Pierce.
Pierce took over the role after a Week 8 loss to the Detroit Lions when owner Mark Davis decided it was time to make some changes. Head coach Josh McDaniels, along with general manager Dave Zeigler, were relieved of their duties.
The team has responded to Pierce, going 4-4 with him at the helm. Never holding a job above a positional coach in the NFL, it was a big jump up the ranks for the former standout linebacker, but he has handled this well.
NFL News & Rumors: Antonio Pierce, Mark Davis, Jim Harbaugh, Las Vegas Raiderd Updates
The players love him, as respected veterans in the locker room have spoken highly of the job Pierce has done. While he has certainly done enough to be under consideration for the full-time job, the Raiders sound like they are going to at least look around and see what is available. But, according to Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated, that doesn’t mean Pierce won’t be in the running for the job.
“One thing I’ve heard is that Davis may have a big swing in him, and that he’d go with Pierce if that swing weren’t to work out.
“A couple things should really help Antonio Pierce with Mark Davis. The first is that Davis still harbors some regret over not giving Rich Bisaccia another year after Bisaccia united a team that was going through a lot—the Jon Gruden fiasco, and Henry Ruggs’s and Damon Arnette’s off-field problems—and got the Raiders to the playoffs. The second is that Davis does listen to his players.”
How things went the last time the Raiders had an interim head coach the players liked will be on Davis’s mind for a while. Las Vegas made an improbable run to the postseason under Rich Bisaccia only to have him replaced by McDaniels, who failed to recreate ‘The Patriots Way’ in Sin City.
NFL News & Rumors: Antonio Pierce, Mark Davis, Jim Harbaugh, Las Vegas Raiderd Updates
Who could the Raiders be targeting should they look to take a big swing? Jim Harbaugh, the current head coach at Michigan, has been linked to the franchise. His hiring of NFL agent Dan Yee has only increased speculation.
“I think the Raiders situation is interesting,” former Raiders front office executive Michael Lombardi said recently. “Jim Harbaugh hiring Don Yee is really interesting. But when he made that move, Yee represents Brady, (Raiders QB Jimmy) Garoppolo and he’s kinda got a connection inside that building.”
This will be something worth keeping an eye on in the coming weeks. For now, Harbaugh is focused on the National Championship Game his Wolverines will be playing in against Washington next week. But, rumors are going to pick up shortly after that as a lucrative offer is on the table from the university.
Want the latest NFL analysis, breaking news, and insider information? Click here. Interested in reading storylines and analysis about the NBA? Check out our partner NBA Analysis Network.
