With head coach Antonio Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco in place, expect the Las Vegas Raiders to begin filling out (or thinning out) the coaching staff the next few days and weeks.
Now that the top two positions in the Silver & Black are good to go, the big task of landing a new offensive coordinator is likely the next domino to fall. Yet there’s one anticipated move on the horizon too: Pierce’s mentor and former Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis joining the coaching staff.
Lewis and Pierce are no strangers to one another. They’ve had the player-coach relationship with the then-Washington Redskins as Lewis served as defensive coordinator and Pierce was a linebacker back in 2002. The two then served as peers under head coach Herm Edwards at Arizona State for three seasons before Pierce landed with the Raiders as linebackers coach in 2022.
So, it’s no surprise when Josh McDaniels was dismissed as the Raiders head coach on Nov. 1 and Pierce ascended to then interim lead role for the final nine games of the 2023 season, the new face of the place and Lewis reunited.
The renowned defensive mind lent his expertise to the rookie interim head coach as did Pierce’s mentor Tom Coughlin, the hardnosed former New York Giants head coach who helmed a Super Bowl winner with Pierce as a defensive leader at linebacker. Adam Gase also provided assistance — to interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree — and it was that veteran trio that provided the eager-to-listen and learn Pierce advice.
Those trio of coaches were in Las Vegas in early December as Pierce picked their brains on a bevy of things such as scheduling, scheme, technique, and officiating.
Thus the reports of Coughlin assisting Pierce in the search for coaches to join the Raiders staff only make sense.
Having the well-regarded Lewis on staff would be a boon for Pierce. By appearances, it’s a matter of when, not if. And the 65-year-old coaching veteran provides a solid sounding board for the 45-year-old Pierce. Lewis is keen on what it takes to be an NFL head coach after a 16-year stint with the Bengals were he compiled a 131-122 record in the regular season and a 7-7 mark in the playoffs.
