The Big Lead

Antonio Pierce's return ensures more Raiders mediocrity under Mark Davis

By Joe Lago

Jan 5, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce calls a play against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
Jan 5, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce calls a play against the Los Angeles Chargers during the fourth quarter at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images / Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images
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For Antonio Pierce, it was just another Monday. He held his usual, day-after-game press conference and gave his thoughts on his team's performance. It appears he will have more Monday media sessions as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders despite a disappointing 4-13 record and last-place finish in the AFC West.

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"I haven't been told anything different," Pierce told reporters when he asked if he expects to keep his job.

All indications point to Raiders owner Mark Davis retaining Pierce despite a 2024 campaign that fell well short of expectations after Pierce's encouraging end to 2023, when, as interim head coach, he won five of nine games including an impressive 20-14 home win against the hated Kansas City Chiefs.

Davis' decision to keep Pierce despite a 9-17 record across two seasons as Raiders head coach can have only one logical reason: The owner craves to project stability.

Since taking over the franchise in 2011 for his father, the late Hall of Famer Al Davis, Mark Davis has employed nine head coaches on a full-time or interim basis. He's made bad hires before and fessed up to those mistakes with firings. An optimist's view is that giving Pierce more time is a sign of progress by the normally fickle owner.

And the Raiders' failures don't completely fall on Pierce. An inordinate amount of injuries decimated the defense, which was clearly the team's strength, and general manager Tom Telesco is more to blame for the quarterback struggles, having provided Pierce nothing but unsatisfactory options with Gardner Minshew, Aidan O'Connell and Desmond Ridder.

The team's devoted fan base, however, has been given excuses for desultory results over the last two decades. Raider Nation seems to have lost its patience after a third-straight playoff-less season and 17th losing campaign since the franchise's last Super Bowl run in 2002.

By keeping Pierce, Davis is asking Raiders fans to keep the faith. The team has the No. 6 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and well over $100 million in salary-cap space, so there are pathways to solving the QB problem and upgrading the roster.

Telesco hit on last year's first-round pick with record-setting rookie tight end Brock Bowers. Pierce, with a healthy squad, went to Baltimore in Week 2 and beat the Ravens 26-23 with a spirited second-half comeback. Those are the few positives to buy into a turnaround.

By not jumping on the NFL coaching carousel again, Davis likely wants to show that an actual plan is in place for Silver and Black success. But you can't blame fans for being skeptical about Davis (and, to a lesser degree, Telesco and Pierce) actually achieving meaningful results. The collective body of work loudly says otherwise.

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