Las Vegas Raiders Head Coach: Reports Of Mutual Interest Between Team And Jim Harbaugh As Players, Fans And Alumni Lobby For Antonio Pierce

Davis has tried to find the right coach for more than two decades, since making the decision to trade Jon Gruden to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2002.  In his first NFL head coaching position with the Raiders from 1998 to 2001, he won two consecutive  division titles and led the team to an AFC Championship appbefore owner Al Davis made the stunning trade sending the young, innovative offensive mind to Tampa.

Davis, the father of current Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis, hired Bill Callahan who inherited a solid team and quarterback Gruden built and led them to the Super Bowl in 2002 after an impressive (11-5) season led by quarterback Rich Gannon, who was named NFL MVP that year.

Ironically, the decision to part with Gruden paid off with instant karma. The Raiders fell to Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48-21 in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Gannon faced injuries the following season and the franchise began to sputter. They didn’t have another winning season until 14 years later in 2016, where they finished with an impressive (12-4) record under head coach Jack Del Rio.

But they  were knocked out of the postseason with a 27-14 loss to the Houston Texans in the Wilcard Round of the NFL playoffs.

The Las Vegas Raiders have only had one more winning season since 2002, which came in 2021 where they fell to the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round of the playoffs after finishing (10-7).

Gruden — who retuned to coach the franchise in 2018 after signing an unprecedented 10-year contract worth $100 million that included a no-trade clause — was forced to resign in October 2021 after an investigation into workplace misconduct inside the Washington Commanders organization revealed several derogatory, racist and controversial emails from the Raiders front man.

Gruden led the Raiders to a (3-2) start that season and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia took over as interim head coach,, finishing with a (7-5) record that gave the franchise a chance to compete in the playoffs.

Despite many players and fans advocating for Davis to retain Bisaccia as the team’s head coach, the Raiders owner opted to hire former New England Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels,  who had a (9-16) record before getting fired halfway through this past season.

Las Vegas Raiders Owner Eying  Jim Harbaugh As Next Coach, Despite Players, Alumni And Fans Lobbying For Antonio Pierce

Nine-year NFL veteran Antonio Pierce, who was the team’s linebackers coach, took over the interim head coaching role when McDaniels was fired and the team had a (2-6) record at the time. Pierce led the Raiders to a commanding 30-6 win the very next week in his first-ever head coaching debut.

On December 14, the Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Los Angeles Chargers 63-21, scoring the most points in franchise history — and one week later — beat the Kansas City Chiefs for the first times since 2020.

Pierce closed out his role as interim head coach with a (5-4) record — and despite missing the playoffs — won over the support of the locker room , fan base and prominent alumni who have publicly lobbied for him to become the permanent head coach in 2024.

Despite all of the support for Pierce, multiple reports have stated there’s mutual interest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh.

While there may be mutual interest, Harbaugh is at the top of the list for several teams in need of a coach.

The Raiders biggest stars haven’t been shy about their support for Pierce as the next full-time head coach.

When asked about Antonio Pierce getting consideration for the job last week, the team’s standout WR didn’t hesitate.

”That’s my vote, and that’s basically how the whole locker room feels,” Davante Adams said last week. “With good reason. He’s come in and done a great job. He’s continued to win us over. It’s not just the comfortable thing. I think having AP here will be good for this organization. He kind of embodies what it means to be a Raider. That mentality, that swag and all the things he endorses is the things that I believe in. It’s easy for a guy like me, especially having dealt with him a little bit this year now and gotten to know him and see his evolution in front of the team. All those things, all those different fields of being a head coach. Definitely rooting for him.”

Following Sunday’s win, Maxx Crosby, the clear leader of the Las Vegas Raiders defense, spoke up in support of Pierce.

“There’s only 32 [NFL] head coaches in the whole world,” Crosby said Thursday, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com. “So you’ve got to find a leader of men. And when you’ve got one of them in the building currently, I don’t know why you would let them go?” As attractive as Jim Harbaugh is for so many teams, it’s clear Antonio Pierce has won over everyone involved with the Raiders except the owner at this point. As the interim coach ran off the field after beating the Broncos 27-14 to close out the season, loud chants of “AP, AP, AP” roared through Allegiant Stadium. At this point, while other teams would love to have Jim Harbaugh lead their team, it feels like Raiders fans and players will be angry if they don’t hire Pierce for the job. Davis already made that mistake letting Bisaccia go to hire McDaniels. If something is working and the players are buying in,, why change?