Following an ugly Week 8 Monday Night Football loss to the Detroit Lions, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis made a dramatic decision by firing head coach Josh McDaniel’s. He named assistant coach Antonio Pierce as the Raiders’ interim head coach, and the squad is presently on a two-game winning streak. Pierce has so far pleased Davis with his leadership, which may prevent the owner from making the same error he did two years ago.
After Jon Gruden was fired following his email controversy in 2021, special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia took over and led the team to a 7-5 record and a playoff appearance. Nonetheless, Davis let him go and hired Josh McDaniels, who was a complete 9-16 debacle.
Davis now has the opportunity to get it right this time with a Raiders interim coach, and while he hasn’t divulged Pierce’s possibilities, things appear to be going nicely.
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“While Davis has not specifically stated what interim coach Antonio Pierce needs to do for the full-time job to be his for the 2024 season and beyond, sources say Davis has noticed the energy in the building that Pierce brought when he was elevated following McDaniels’ firing on Oct. 31,” the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport wrote on Sunday. “While pleasantly surprised in how the team has responded with back-to-back wins, Davis is said to be impressed, sources say.”
Pierce has hopefully pleased Davis enough with his first two wins to earn a little leeway moving ahead. The Raiders had two wins, but they came against the New York Giants and the New York Jets, two of the league’s poorest teams.
The Raiders meet the Miami Dolphins, one of the strongest teams in the AFC, in Week 11. There is no shame in losing to the Dolphins, but Pierce must hope that Mark Davis continues to evaluate him based on the spirit in the building rather than just wins and losses.
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