It’s been a complicated start to the season for the Raiders, and the team has already come together with the coaching staff for two meetings to address concerns in the locker room.
The specific details of those meetings aren’t known, but last week’s meeting reportedly involved constructive criticisms around the team’s organization and accountability.
According to CBS Sports insider Johnathan Jones, it was positive meeting, but “uncomfortable’ for a lot of people in the room.
“After Monday’s coaches meeting, the team met with the staff and the floor was open for anyone to speak their mind. According to sources present, a few themes emerged. Players had issues with the schedule not being efficient. There was a lack of organization and ‘wasting time,’ and there was a ‘lack of discipline and accountability,’” Jones reported last week.
“Sources tell CBS Sports that several Raiders players, including team captain Maxx Crosby, spoke openly in a players-and-staff meeting Monday addressing what they viewed as inefficiencies and deficiencies within the organization on a week-to-week basis,” Jones continued. “One source described the meeting as ending ‘uncomfortably for all parties.’”
The need for all the team meetings is hard to spin as “positive” news, but Yahoo and FOX Sports host Jason Fitz believes this is the kind of culture Pierce is trying to build, at least in the sense of players having a voice.
Via Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate, this was Fitz’s summation of recent team meetings and why they are part of the culture Pierce has brought to the Raiders…
“One thing I would say that I think a lot of people have honestly gotten wrong, is Antonio Pierce is a players’ coach. So the fact that we’re saying, well, this is the second players meeting this year, and on top of everything we saw a year ago, why are these meetings constantly happening?
Well, it kind of makes sense when you think about a players’ coach coming in and saying, “Hey, I want the players to be part of what fixes this.” There’s going to be more of an open dialogue in this locker room because of Antonio Pierce, than there will be in a locker room that doesn’t have a coach like Antonio Piers. This is, I think, a defining part of the style of how he wants to run this team, whether we like it or not, whether it makes sense to fans or not.
I think the players being empowered to feel like they can speak up, and the players being part of the what fixes the concept around the culture is something that is what Antonio Pierce wants to build. Now, does that make sense for everybody? Is that the way it’s always done? No, but if you’re Antonio Pierce, this is the hill you want to die on, and that means guys like Max are going to have a voice constantly during his regime.”
While the term “players’ coach” might be an accurate description of Pierce, it’s worth noting he has shown the ability to tackle disciplinary issues.
Jack Jones, Marcus Peters and Davante Adams have all seen a disciplinary side of Pierce that isn’t necessarily typical of a “players coach.”
Whatever the approach Pierce is taking with the locker room, the most important detail of his coaching career is going to be the level of his success. Last year, the team responded to his style of coaching and the season turned around in a way no one was expecting. This year, it feels like everything that can go wrong, has gone wrong for Pierce and the Raiders.
Whether or not that’s the fault of Pierce will be for GM Tom Telesco and team ownership to determine after the season.
