Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce head coach profile

2023 did not go the way the Las Vegas Raiders had planned. It did for the fans, who wanted Josh McDaniels gone, but they still sit outside of the playoffs looking in. You hate to wish for someone to get fired, but McDaniels was ruining the franchise even more, and he's still getting paid, so I'd say it's okay not to feel too bad.

Now, they have to find who can take this team to the next level. They haven't won a playoff game in over 20 years, and for a franchise that is as historic as the Raiders are, that's surprising to most. Antonio Pierce, who took over after McDaniels was let go, is a guy that most fans want to return as the head coach full-time.

But there is more than one candidate the Raiders will be looking at. Pierce is a guy that other teams are interested in, too. Here is a view into who Antonio Pierce is:

Who is Antonio Pierce?

Antonio Pierce is from Compton, California, and was born and raised as a Raiders fan. He embodies what it used to mean to be a Raider. He played in the NFL, too, so he's a player's coach. Pierce played for the New York Giants and Washington Redskins. He won a Super Bowl with the Giants as a defensive captain.

From there, Pierce went on to coach high school at Long Beach Poly High School in California, where he coached his current defensive back, Jack Jones. Pierce went from the high school level to college pretty quickly and found himself as a defensive coordinator at Arizona State, coaching Jones there as well.

From there, he found himself as a linebacker's coach last season. He entered 2023 as the linebackers coach and finished it as an interim head coach.

Responsibilities

Pierce's responsibilities as a linebackers coach were to work closely with hands-on linebackers. From there, when he became the interim head coach, his responsibility was simple: win games and rebuild the locker room.

He established a culture for the Raiders but did not call plays for the team. He continued to let Patrick Graham call the defense, as the Raiders finished as the sixth-best defense in football. He did, though, have the responsibilities during games to manage the clock in terms of time outs, throw challenge flags, and everything else a head coach does.

Calling card

I'm sure Pierce could call plays. He was a defensive coordinator in college and often times wore the green dot on defense when he played. But he has yet to do that in the NFL. His calling card isn't really Xs and Os, even though he can do that; it's the ability to lead men.

He has the locker room bought in that they can win every and any game. He has the fans believing that, too. Pierce is a Raider. That's his calling card. He's a culture setter and a leader. When he talks, you listen.

Can he be the face of a franchise?

For the Raiders, he can be the face of the franchise. He is a Raider, as I have probably written too many times by now. He embodies what it means to be a Raider, but he likely couldn't be that for another team. If you win a playoff game for the Raiders, something that hasn't been done in over 20 years, you can be the face of the franchise easily.

But for other teams, they may not look at him that way. A lot of teams look at Pierce as a coach who can get you to that playoff-caliber level after a rebuild, but not necessarily to that Super Bowl level. He is a stepping-stone coach for a lot of teams.