Looking back at how things went for Las Vegas Raiders star Maxx Crosby with regards to the head coaching search, No. 98 doesn’t regret anything.
While it’s easy to get excited about the prospects of the Raiders for this upcoming season, it wasn’t that long ago that Crosby caused an uproar among Raider Nation. In a league where the players often wield little to no power as far as organizational moves, Crosby went the other way. As opposed to the NBA, for example, a league where the players very much have a hand in top-level decisions, the NFL often seems to be the opposite. For Crosby, he’d seen enough. Year after year, the incompetence at the top of the Raiders yielded little to no result.
Raiders star Maxx Crosby doubled down on Antonio Pierce
Following Josh McDaniels’ exit from the team, the Raiders took off. Under the leadership of Antonio Pierce, Crosby and Co. rallied and led the Silver and Black to a 5-4 record in the interim. Clearly, something changed. Despite barely missing the playoffs, clearly the cultural shift in the locker room was monumental. So much so, Crosby did what he had to do after the season ended.
While some may question the timing of how Crosby went about it, the multiple-time Pro Bowler was linked to a supposed trade request. A request that would’ve come if Pierce wasn’t retained, according to league insiders, including Ian Rapoport. On the other hand, it’s entirely plausible that Crosby only resorted to this once he knew owner Mark Davis was indeed hiring Pierce. Nonetheless, Crosby was not apologetic; oppositely, he confirmed that he felt it was necessary to show strong support for his coach (h/t Austin Boyd of Heavy Sports).
“It is what it is. I still stand on what I said. I was very, very passionate about that. I’ve been here for five years, going on six now. And I’ve earned the right to have an opinion and share how I feel. I put in the work every single day. To this day, I’m in the building more than anybody else. I do it every day. I put my body on the line for this team and this organization. So, you know, there are certain things going on behind the scenes. I won’t get into it. It is what it is. But we move forward.”
Luckily for both Crosby and Raiders fans, Pierce was indeed “the guy.” While some didn’t necessarily agree with the notion that Davis didn’t interview “top candidates,” the fact remains that the Raiders hired the man that they wanted. For now, we wait and see if it was indeed the right call.
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