Details Leak on Antonio Pierce’s ‘So Awkward’ Final Day as Raiders HC

The Las Vegas Raiders‘ offseason is off to a very strange start. Instead of firing Antonio Pierce on Black Monday as most teams making coaching did, the team waited until the following day and allowed Pierce to do his end-of-season press conference.

They also waited until Thursday to fire general manager Tom Telesco. There’s clearly a lack of clarity for the franchise right now with part owner Tom Brady potentially leading the charge on a lot of changes.

That could be a big reason why the Raiders have had an odd start to the offseason. According to Yahoo Sports’ Charles Robinson, Pierce was fully expecting to be back in 2025 and even started working on potential changes, which created a weird dynamic in the building.

“All setting in motion a 2024 path that veered into a crater — starting with a failure to secure a real answer at quarterback for Pierce, then ending with sending him out to address the media one day before he found out he was being fired,” Robinson wrote in a Jan. 8 column. “It was a situation so awkward inside the team’s headquarters that, according to sources who spoke with Yahoo Sports, Pierce had already started discussing potential coaching staff changes hours before he learned he was losing his job.”

It’s unclear why the Raiders waited to make the decision on Pierce and owner Mark Davis has not spoken to the media since the end of the season.

What Could Be Next for Antonio Pierce?

Regardless of how the Raiders handled the firing, Pierce will not be back with the team next season. Prior to being thrust into the head coaching role, Pierce was a linebackers coach for Las Vegas.

He doesn’t have any experience calling defensive plays at the NFL level so it’s unlikely a team will want him to be their defensive coordinator. The best move for Pierce would be to be a linebackers coach again for a very experienced and successful head coach.

Considering Pierce has often drawn comparisons to Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell, it might be a good career move for him to work under the coach to see how he’s had success. It might also be wise for him to work under one of the top offensive coaches like Kyle Shanahan, Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur or Andy Reid.

Raiders Taking a Look at Pete Carroll

The Raiders are casting a wide net for their head coaching positions. While they’re likely to interview a lot of candidates who have never been a head coach before, they are also looking at some experienced coaches.

Few coaches available have more experience than Pete Carroll. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Raiders are going to interview the former Seattle Seahawks head coach soon.

Carroll had a very successful run with the Seahawks for over a decade and won a Super Bowl, but the team soured on him and moved on last offseason. Carroll is 73 but appears eager to get back into coaching. He’s got a long track record of success but it’s fair to question whether or not the game has passed him by.