Antonio Pierce Hired as Raiders HC After Replacing Josh McDaniels as Interim

Antonio Pierce made a strong impression as an interim head coach, so the Las Vegas Raiders have decided to hire him full time. The team announced the decision on Friday.

Jordan Schultz of Bleacher Repor first reported Pierce will have the interim tag removed from his title after he went 5-4 over the final nine games of the season.

Things seemed to be heading this way after Schefter reported Pierce emerged as the leading candidate for the job.

Pierce joined the Raiders staff in 2022 when Josh McDaniels hired him as linebackers coach. The 45-year-old had never been a coach in the NFL prior to that, though he spent four years working with Herm Edwards at Arizona State from 2018 to '21.

After McDaniels was fired on Oct. 31, Las Vegas named Pierce his replacement on an interim basis. The writing seemed to be on the wall for McDaniels before the final decision was made.

Per a Nov. 5 report from NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, McDaniels' final week of practice felt very different than normal following a team meeting when players "begged" him to change his ways:

"Sources described McDaniels as far less involved than usual during that practice—akin to a bystander. He let the plays happen without correction, hoped players would self-correct and avoided stepping in to handle every mistake. It was unlike the way he had handled every previous practice during his tenure.

"Players—and coaches—had ripped into him during the meeting. The point of the session was to be upfront and honest to try to fix what was wrong for the then-3-4 Raiders. Among the issues addressed: Overcorrecting, long meetings, the ways in which McDaniels attempted to hold players accountable and blaming players for issues with play-calling."

When Pierce took over, the team immediately responded by winning each of his first two games.

Quarterback Aidan O'Connell praised Pierce's leadership skills after the Nov. 5 win against the New York Giants.

"He did a great job," O'Connell said. "It was a hard situation, a short week, an unfortunate situation that he took full advantage of. He's a guy with strong convictions and you can feel his intensity when he talks. Guys believe in him and we just, all around, offense, defense, special teams, did a really good job executing."

As the season was drawing to a close, Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby joined the chorus of Raiders players praising Pierce.

"Yeah, I mean, he's obviously who I want, that's my vote, and I've been vocal about that," Adams said on Jan. 7. "That's basically how the whole locker room feels, and with good reason. I mean, he's come in and done a great job, and he's continued to win us over."

Crosby has made it known multiple times he wanted the Raiders to hire Pierce.

"There's only 32 [NFL] head coaches in the whole world," Crosby told reporters on Jan. 4, "so you've got to find a leader of men. And when you've got one of them in the building currently, I don't know why you would let them go."

After it was reported that Pierce was going to speak with the Tennessee Titans about their coaching vacancy, Crosby took to social media to send a message to the Raiders.

NFL.com's Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero reported Crosby would explore a trade request if Pierce wasn't the choice for Las Vegas.

Even in losses to the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs in Weeks 11 and 12, the Raiders were competitive. An ugly 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings was quickly erased with a dominant 63-21 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers.

The 63 points set a new franchise single-game record, surpassing the previous mark of 59 back in 2010.

One of the most encouraging signs for the Raiders this season was their performance on defense. They were predicted to be one of the worst defensive teams in the NFL coming into 2023, but wound up ranking ninth in points allowed per game.

There's still a lot of work for the front office to do as far as adding talent on the defensive side of the ball so the Raiders aren't as reliant on turnovers, but having Crosby to rush the quarterback is a great starting point.

Pierce comes from a defensive background as a former linebacker. It's probably not an accident the Raiders were more formidable on that side of the ball.

Based on how hard the Raiders were playing and the success they were having, Pierce certainly did enough to warrant being the person to lead them in 2024. He will get that chance with a full offseason to start building the roster he wants.