The Las Vegas Raiders appeared to have finally solved their head coach problem when Antonio Pierce breathed new life into this team following the firing of Josh McDaniels. Pierce's 5-4 finish to 2023 and strong player endorsements helped the Raiders decide to remove the interim tag from him and let him run the show in 2024.
While the Raiders didn't have the best roster in 2024, the regression from 2023 has been enough to get ownership wondering if Pierce was the right guy for the job. After showing very little in 2024, Pierce was officially booted out of town just one year into his time with Las Vegas.
The Raiders made the decision to fire Pierce after his 4-13 2024 season, which makes them the sixth head coach opening across the league. Pierce brought the bravado and bluster, and players played hard for him, but he wasn't able to drag this team to many wins.
Antonio Pierce fired by Raiders after lackluster 4-13 season
Pierce wasn't necessarily given a ton to work with. A volatile defense and quarterback battle between Gardner Minshew and Aidan O'Connell, both of whom missed good amounts of time with injuries, is not going to be enough to compete in a division that features Patrick Mahomes and Justin Herbert.
Pierce started off hot by going 5-4 in 2023 and upsetting the Ravens in Week 2 of 2024. However, with Davante Adams soon asking out, the Raiders lost 10 straight games, all before proceeding to hurt their draft position by winning two meaningless games at the end of his tenure.
This job will attract some very interesting candidates. Only the Patriots have more available cap space, the franchise could be in a position to draft a new franchise quarterback or pay top dollar for the best available on the market, and multiple high-end performers like Maxx Crosby and Brock Bowers are already in town.
Pierce is a good football guy and a valuable presence to have in a locker room, which will help him easily land a quality assistant coaching job down the line. He may have success elsewhere in the future, but with the Raiders, it was clear early on that he was in over his skis.