Las Vegas Raiders Announce Antonio Pierce’s Hiring

The Raiders have concluded the search for their next head coach. Amidst a lot of talk about who might be the right individual to coach the team, the Raiders seemed to have stuck to the man who saved their ship midseason. Antonio Pierce has been confirmed as Las Vegas Raiders‘ newest head coach, extending his stay beyond the interim role he was initially hired for.

The former NFL star was given his interim position on October 31 as the Raiders were struggling in the season. From the looks of it, Mark Davis and the team appear to be supporting this decision fully, given that Pierce delivered a 5-4 end to the 17-game season in which they finished 2nd in the AFC West with an 8-9 record. Now, as the team announced his HC role, Pierce came to introduce himself with a swagger.

Antonio Pierce’s entry is amazing!

The Raiders announced Antonio Pierce taking up the head coach role from the interim position. They shared a video on X, wherein Pierce is seen walking in the lobby to his cabin.

Donning a Raiders jacket, he sat down on his chair comfortably, and said, “Raider Nation, Stand up!” hinting at his entry as the franchise’s new coach. The Raiders posted this video with a caption which has a cross on the word “interim”: “I̶n̶t̶e̶r̶i̶m̶ Head Coach Antonio Pierce #RaiderNation.”

After his promotion, his team and the fans are finally happy with the franchise’s decision. After all, during the clash against the Broncos, all that could be heard was ‘AP!‘ being chanted in the stadium. This happened with 1:01 left in the game, expressing their desire for Antonio Pierce to transition from interim to full-time coach, and players like Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams, joined in on the show of support.

Why does his team love Antonio Pierce?

Maxx Crosby once said, “When you have the right culture, a guy like A.P. that embraces the history of the Raiders, it’s special. … A ton of legends [visit] consistently because the amount of respect they have for him. So it makes you, as a player, want to go out there and show who you are. You know what I mean? You want to be at that level one day.” This statement clearly suggests why Antonio Pierce is loved by all.

He embraces the Raiders culture and believes in his team. Furthermore, his leadership and performance have helped the team to taste some speculator wins this season, including a thumping win 63-21 in Week 15 against LA. Pierce guided the Raiders to top rankings in various defensive aspects during his tenure. They held the top spot in the league for the fewest points allowed per game (16.0), recorded four defensive touchdowns, and committed the fewest penalties (31).

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Moreover, they secured the 10th position in takeaways (14), ranked fourth in point differential (62), and shared the third spot in the league for the most sacks (30) from Week 9 onwards until the end of the season. As he has proved himself, that’s why the team loves him. And Pierce also considers himself as a Raider!

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