Before their game against the Jaguars two weeks ago, the Raiders had lost 10 straight games, and the ignorant “tank for the number one pick” crowd was growing in volume.
Thankfully, the Raiders players and head coach Antonio Pierce ignored the calls and won a close game, 19-14, which ended the painful losing streak and gave fans and players something to cheer about leading into the holiday week.
Yet instead of being able to enjoy the long-awaited win, Pierce was forced to answer questions about the team’s new draft position.
While not unexpected, it was a frustrating moment for Pierce, who is coaching for his job on a team that lacks overall talent.
To his credit, Pierce answered the question in the most expected way.
“We don’t do this to lose. We don’t do this for anybody’s fantasy football team, we don’t do this for anybody’s draft projections. None of that sh*t matters to us. Only thing that matters is winning and that’s what we want to do,” he said.
Winning should be what mattered, but the allure of the number one pick was too great to ignore, which is why some frustrated fans would rather see the Raiders tank in their final few games.
After yesterday’s win over the Saints, Las Vegas is 4-12 and will have a Top 10 pick, but will Antonio Pierce be their head coach?
The answer should be yes, for the team is too talent-depleted for Pierce to have been given a fair chance at winning this season.
We’ve seen numerous examples of Black head coaches being cleanup men in the NFL, navigating teams through rough waters only for a white coach to be hired after the hard work has been done.
This season began with six Black head coaches. Mike Tomlin (Steelers), Todd Bowles (Buccaneers) and DeMeco Ryans (Texnas) all returned while Pierce (Raiders) had the interim head coach tag removed and Raheem Morris (Falcons) and Jarod Mayo (Patriots) were new hires.
So far, Tomlin and Ryans have made the playoffs, Bowles and Morris are in a playoff battle and Pierce and Mayo are in rebuilds.
They should all be returning in 2025, including the latter two.
All of these teams have a good quarterback under center except for Pierce, and in today’s league, a good QB is essential for success. That’s another reason why Pierce deserves a second year, especially as the Raiders are in a draft good position.
Currently, the Raiders’ biggest star is rookie tight end Brock Bowers, who set rookie tight end records this season, and that was with QBs Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minschew under center.
Give Pierce a star under center, some offensive weapons and a few key players on defense and he should have a much better 2025. He deserves that chance, especially as the team displayed promise by beating the Ravens in Week 2 and almost beating the Chiefs twice this season.
Too often NFL owners are quick to pull the plug on coaches, especially during challenging/losing seasons. But after releasing QB Derek Carr and trading Davante Adams, the team proved they were looking toward the future.
Hopefully, Antonio Pierce will be part of that future, because he deserves to be.
So stop asking Pierce about tanking and let him show what he can do, which is have the team ready in the final game of the season.
And unless he pulls a Doug Pederson (the Eagles version) and purposely tanks in the final game, Pierce deserves a second year.
