With the regular season in the books, Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis shed some real praise for interim coach Antonio Pierce. Following their Week 18 victory, the oft-maligned Davis made no bones about it; Pierce did his job just as he had asked him to do so after jettisoning Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler.
Believe it or not, the Raiders had a winning season under Pierce, technically speaking. The squad played hard and truly bought into what Pierce was preaching. In return, Raiders players played to a 5-4 record. Though Las Vegas missed out on the playoffs, the Raiders finished second in the AFC West with a total 8-9 record. Also, the “Las Vegas” team is still undefeated against the Denver Broncos, so that dominance continued under Pierce.
Mark Davis is proud of what the Raiders, Antonio Pierce accomplished…
Speaking with ESPN’s Paul Gutierrez following Sunday’s win, Mark Davis shared both praise and pride in what his interim coach accomplished.
“Yeah, I think the team really played well down the stretch, and I think going 4-2 in the division is really a positive for us. Obviously, that’s what we have to take care of first: the division. And we went into Kansas City in a tough game and beat them, and we took care of Denver here at home to end the season.”
Davis is right; you have to take care of your own division first. Despite a slow start under McDaniels, Pierce picked up the pieces and ran with them. Although the Raiders faced some challenges, including a significant setback of being shut out by the Minnesota Vikings, they ultimately managed to handle their business.
In fact, looking back, Pierce did exactly what Davis asked of him. When the Raiders named Pierce the interim head coach, it was Davis himself who told Pierce that he wanted his new coach to “lead and delegate.” The locker reactions this season and the high praise from the team’s stars indicate that the mission was accomplished. “There’s no question about it,” added Davis. Now, the question remains whether all of that will be enough for Pierce to have the interim tag removed from his job title.
More must-reads: