Interim Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce suffered his first loss against the Miami Dolphins last Sunday. The Silver and Black have their first test of adversity under Pierce as they look to get back to .500 against an offensively challenged Kansas City Chiefs team.
Nonetheless, it’s plenty realistic that the Raiders lose and fall to 5-7. While a part of the fanbase will second-guess whether or not Pierce should have the job permanently, Fox Sports’ Keyshawn Johnson isn’t judging him with wins and losses.
Johnson sees something much deeper.
Keyshawn Johnson: The Raiders should’ve hired Antonio Pierce already
Antonio Pierce began his job as interim head coach with back-to-back victories, but picked up his first loss against the Dolphins in Week 11. Nonetheless, Keyshawn Johnson notes that concluding whether or not Pierce deserves his interim label removed based merely on his record would be foolish. The former NFL wide receiver thinks that his ability to convince his players to play for him should be more important than his interim head coaching record.
“[The Raiders] went from a stale personality and Josh McDaniels, and none of the players, like, they couldn’t stand him,” Johnson recently said on “The Herd with Colin Cowherd.” “He’s gone. You bring in AP; it’s a totally different world now. You say, ‘Ah, well, you know, AP didn’t win enough games.’
“Well, he shouldn’t be judged on winning the games. He should be judged on the way the team responds to him because if you sit up and you worry about the Ws and Ls, that’s not going to help.”
Johnson is correct in pointing out the frustration under McDaniels. Some didn’t hide their emotions, whether speaking to the NFL media or cameras capturing their reactions on the sidelines. With Pierce, players are showing plenty of emotion and going to bat for the Super Bowl champion.
Should the Silver and Black already hire Pierce?
Las Vegas is giving the former linebacker the rest of the 2023 NFL season to audition for the job. Still, Johnson believes that shouldn’t be necessary. Johnson notes that Raiders owner Mark Davis should have removed the interim tag.
“Why are we even still talking about if he should be hired or not?” Johnson added. “That’s done. That should be done right now. [Davis] should be meeting with the president and general manager of the team, sitting down, and talking to them about announcing Antonio Pierce as the permanent head coach for the Raiders. There’s nothing to talk about.”
Davis has been down this road already with Rich Bisaccia. Will he decide to go with the interim coach this time or look elsewhere? If Pierce stays, will it be time to look for a franchise quarterback via the draft or trade? The defense is responding, but the offense still needs improving.
Perhaps sticking with Pierce and fixing other needs might be what Las Vegas needs. With an improved offense and an even better defense, the Raiders could see the best out of their current interim head coach and put him in a better position to succeed and get the most out of the squad.
With only six games remaining in the season, things are coming down to the wire.
*Top Photo: Getty Images
Unfortunately The Raiders cannot hire AP until the coach hiring period Begins and ends. Keyshawn should know this .
(By Tony Brucks)
While I agree wins should not be the only barometer for keeping coaches sadly its pretty much the only thing owners use.
I look at the overall picture as in game plans. How players like the coaches. How players react in tough games. How players keep themselves and handle themselves in relations to the team. How players condition themselves and stay in shape. You ask why this has any bearings on the coach? Because the players should want to do all these things for a coach/team/owner they want to play for.
Yeah you get some like Ferrell and Tyree that just want to get drafted and signed to get a bonus & salary them sit on their a$$es and do nothing until they get cut then do it again with a different team. Seems to be happening a lot now with all the teams.
Anyway, this last game had a very bad game plan along with bad play calling. I dont totally buy it was too protect Aidan.
WTH do we have to lose at this point? Put that pedal to the metal and open this sucker up and see how fast we can go? Really…what do we have to lose?
Along with the bad game plan and bad play calling our in game adjustments were nill, null & void as well. Sorry coach Pierce but last sunday looked a lot like Josh McIdiot was back in charge.
(by GTHANG)
I think there’s a technicality in that each team who fires a HC must go through the hiring process before naming a new one. Maybe there’s a way to circumvent the Rooney Rule by hiring a minority HC, but generally the NFL wants teams to follow protocol.
AP deserves it. He influences all aspects of the team and gets the most from his players.
He and Bo were saddled with the outdated scheme of a loser HC who gave away our QB1 for nothing (“A fireable offense in itself” said former Patriot Teddy Bruschi). They have reimagined the team on the fly and made it watchable again.
We need a coach who will build on what we have, not tear it down again. AP seems right for the job.