Raiders Rumors: Mark Davis 'Impressed' with Antonio Pierce After McDaniels Firing

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis is already seeing a change for the better after firing Josh McDaniels and installing Antonio Pierce as the interim head coach, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

"While Davis has not specifically stated what interim coach Antonio Pierce needs to do for the full-time job to be his for the 2024 season and beyond, sources say Davis has noticed the energy in the building that Pierce brought when he was elevated following McDaniels' firing on Oct. 31," Rapoport reported Sunday. "While pleasantly surprised in how the team has responded with back-to-back wins, Davis is said to be impressed, sources say."

The Raiders fired McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler following a 3-5 start. The steep cost Davis paid to do so was a sign of how things were even worse than the record indicated.

Rapoport and Fox Sports' Jay Glazer detailed a pivotal team meeting that both encapsulated McDaniels' struggles and laid bare why he could no longer continue in the role.

The Raiders turned around and won their first two games with Pierce in charge. More than that, the former linebacker wasted little time in attempting to build a new culture in the locker room. In his first press conference, he made it clear he understands what the franchise symbolizes.

"The short story and the matter of fact is I grew up in Compton, California," he said. "I was born a Raider. I was born with the Raiders rolling in the Coliseum in L.A. I was rolling with N.W.A. talking Straight Out of Compton, rocking Raider hats. So, when an opportunity came to work with Josh (McDaniels), (defensive coordinator) Pat Graham and Dave (Ziegler), I jumped on it. So, that's what set me up for this. I was born this way."

Glazer also contrasted Pierce's messaging behind the scenes with that of McDaniels and said Davis could plausibly remove the interim tag from the 2006 Pro Bowler at some point.

There's always a danger in reading too much into a small sample, though.

In world soccer, the "new manager bounce" is a cliché that refers to a brief run of strong performances immediately after a club changes managers. Oftentimes, the boost is a bit fleeting and not all that instructive.

"The 'bounce' that comes when a new manager is appointed is often because things cannot get any worse," Ben McAleer wrote for the Guardian. "An uptick is almost inevitable. The bounce is an illusion and the new manager is the beneficiary, with any positive results giving him the time he needs to do the real work of sorting out a team."

That could be happening for the Raiders and Pierce. Given the degree to which McDaniels seemingly lost the locker room, nearly anybody was bound to look better by comparison.

The Raiders face their first big test under Pierce on Sunday against the Miami Dolphins. A matchup with the Kansas City Chiefs looms after that in Week 12. Those two games should provide a stronger barometer for whether their improvement is real.