Mark Davis weighs in on Antonio Pierce's future as Raiders head coach
It's that magical time of year: there's a frosty bite to the air, holiday music is on the radio, and NFL teams are gearing up to fire their coaches. With a month's worth of games left in the regular season, we all have a pretty clear picture – for the most part, at least – what the NFL playoff picture is going to look like.
And while we don't know the final field or seeds, yet, we do know that the Raiders won't be apart of either. That's what happens when a team, you know, only wins two games all year. (Although given the Raiders' final month of games, they could get hot and make it four!)
RELATED: Raiders have reportedly made decision on Antonio Pierce for rest of season
Given how much of a mess this season was across the board, many expect Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce to be let go at the end of the year. Las Vegas will be in a position to draft their next theoretical franchise quarterback this April, and teams typically don't let lame-duck head coaches stick around in years when there's a QB at the top of their board.
But if you believe Raiders' owner Mark Davis, no decision has been made on Pierce's future yet. [Extremely Tom Hardy's Bane voice] That comes later.
Mark Davis won't evaluate Antonio Pierce's job security until after Raiders' season ends
I asked #Raiders owner Mark Davis to assess where things stand with HC Antonio Pierce. He's obviously not happy with the 2-11 record and wants to see progress in the final four games. He said he's not in a position to evaluate what the future holds until the offseason arrives.
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) December 11, 2024
Owner Mark Davis on the #Raiders and HC Antonio Pierce: "I'm very disappointed, obviously. I want to see progress. ... There's no excuses. ... You have to go through the season and then we'll re-evaluate. Right now, I'm not in that position of evaluating anything going forward."
— Tashan Reed (@tashanreed) December 11, 2024
None of this is all that surprising. The time to fire Pierce in the middle of the season came and went, like, a month ago. The Raiders are bad, have been bad, and will continue to be bad this season – there's no real point in throwing that PR grenade when everyone's already checked out. Even outside the very-jaded "let him keep coaching for the draft pick" angle, it just doesn't make a whole ton of sense to fire a coach this late in the year *only* because the team plays poorly on the field.
If reading tea leaves is your cup of ... you know ... it doesn't seem like Pierce is going to be around next year. But if you were looking for some brazen/unprofessional answer from the owner that generates 100 different headlines, you've got the wrong team; you're looking for the Cowboys, and they're just a few doors down the hall.
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