Antonio Pierce is the leading candidate to become the Las Vegas Raiders‘ next head coach, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.
Pierce took over as Raiders coach in an interim role after the team fired Josh McDaniels back in late October. Las Vegas went 5-4 under Pierce, including a 63-21 annihilation of the Los Angeles Chargers and a Christmas Day victory over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium.
Raiders players have also thrown their full support behind Pierce, with Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero of NFL media even reporting that star defensive lineman Maxx Crosby would ask for a trade if Las Vegas did not retain Pierce.
Schefter adds that while there will be other coaching options for Raiders owner Mark Davis to consider, a source said that they would be “blown away if Antonio weren’t the pick.”
In addition to Crosby, wide receiver DaVante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs also publicly expressed their support for Pierce. Jacobs will be a free agent this offseason, but he said that he would be more likely to return if Las Vegas kept Pierce.
Not only do Raiders players want the team to remove the interim tag from Pierce and install him as the full-time head coach, but the fans also appear to be siding with Pierce.
Jim Harbaugh has been mentioned as a possibility for Las Vegas, with reports surfacing that the Raiders had planned to make a pursuit of the University of Michigan head coach, who just led the Wolverines to a national championship.
But it appears that Davis is leaning toward Pierce, and you have to wonder how much the players’ support of Pierce is influencing him in his eventual decision.
The Raiders went 8-9 this season and have made just two playoff appearances since 2003, so a change in organizational culture is obviously needed. Perhaps Antonio Pierce is exactly what Las Vegas needs to shed the seemingly never-ending stench of the past couple of decades.
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