Five interesting facts about Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce
Just one season and eight games into his NFL coaching career and Antonio Pierce already has a head-coaching opportunity, albeit on an interim basis.
The Las Vegas Raiders promoted Pierce, who was hired in 2022 to coach the team’s linebackers, to interim head coach Tuesday night after firing head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. Pierce will make his head-coaching debut on Sunday against the New York Giants.
Here are five interesting facts about the newest Raiders coach:
1. He worked for Howard Stern
Pierce worked as a communications intern on “The Howard Stern Show” in 2008 as a way to get exposure to broadcasting. His role was supposed to be for one show only, but he asked Stern if he could work an entire week, to which Stern obliged.
2. He’s dabbled in acting
Pierce hasn’t appeared in any high-profile blockbusters, but he has acted on and off since 2009. He’s appeared in two episodes of the television series “Cubed” in 2009, a movie called “Who Killed Soul Glow?” in 2012 and a documentary titled “98 Seconds” in 2018.
3. He was a captain of a Super Bowl-winning team
Pierce was the defensive captain of the New York Giants when they defeated the New England Patriots 17-14 to win Super Bowl XLII in 2008. He had a team-high 11 tackles in the game. The Patriots were 16-0 heading into that game and one win away from matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated teams in NFL history.
4. He’s won awards for his work in the community
Giving back to the community has been an important part of Pierce’s life away from the field. He received two Man of the Year awards over the years, one from the United Way in 2007 and the other from Minority Athletes Networking Inc. in 2008.
Pierce is involved with several charities and non-profit organizations including City Meals on Wheels, DARE, the Make a Wish Foundation, My Sisters Place, the Red Cross and the YMCA.
5. He was involved in the Plaxico Burress foot shooting incident of 2008
Seemingly everyone remembers the November 2008 incident when Burress, the New York Giants’ star receiver, shot himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub. According to police reports from the incident, Pierce drove Burress to the hospital and then took the firearm used in the shooting home with him.
Pierce’s vehicle was later searched for gunpowder residue and DNA. He was cleared of all criminal charges nine months later while Burress pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon.
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