Antonio Pierce gets seal of approval from two-time Super Bowl champion head coach
Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce received a seal of approval from Tom Coughlin, his former coach with the Giants.
On Friday, the Raiders lifted the interim tag from Pierce's title, making him the team's 11th full-time head coach since 2002.
Per ESPN's Adam Schefter, Coughlin said, "I could not be prouder of Antonio Pierce being named head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders... This is the team he grew up watching, and his belief in himself and in the players is why he is there."
Coughlin coached Pierce from 2005-09, when Pierce was named to his lone Pro Bowl team (2006) and became a Super Bowl champ (2007).
He wasn't alone in his praise of Pierce. Colorado head coach Deion Sanders, ESPN's Robert Griffin III and former Giants teammates Justin Tuck and Brandon Short were among those who celebrated Pierce's promotion.
As NFL insider Ian Rapoport noted, the decision also shuts down the concern that star edge-rusher Maxx Crosby could request a trade.
Last Saturday, Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Crosby would ask out of Las Vegas if Pierce wasn't named head coach.
The Pierce signing also means the Raiders didn't repeat their mistake from their last coaching search. Instead of promoting interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who led Las Vegas to the postseason, owner Mark Davis hired Josh McDaniels.
After Pierce was officially hired, Schefter also shared comments from Crosby and star offensive playmakers, wide receiver Davante Adams and running back Josh Jacobs, with all expressing their excitement about next season.
As widely hailed as the hiring was, getting an endorsement from Coughlin, a two-time Super Bowl-winning coach, is as good a sign as any the Raiders made the right choice
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