The Las Vegas Raiders picked up a signature win on Christmas Day as they went on the road to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-14. Interim head coach Antonio Pierce has gotten a lot of praise following the victory as the Raiders have looked like a much-improved team ever since he took over.
The conversation has now moved on to whether or not Pierce has earned the right to take over the Raiders head coaching job permanently. He certainly has his supporters within the locker room, and now many outside are calling for the interim tag to be removed as well.
Following the Raiders’ victory, Fox NFL analyst Michael Strahan spoke on the subject, letting it be known that he feels Pierce deserves to be the permanent coach of the Raiders:
Antonio Pierce should be the permanent Head Coach for the #Raiders. No doubt it my mind, he has earned it. @NFLonFOX
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) December 25, 2023
There is a different energy around the team ever since Pierce took over as interim coach and it started from day one. Players spoke about how things just felt lighter and that they could just go out and play football instead of walking on eggshells. As a former player, Pierce has been able to relate to the Raiders on a different level, and it is clear the team is responding.
It seems as if he has done everything possible in order to earn an opportunity to have that interim tag removed, but whether the Raiders as an organization agree remains to be seen.
The franchise was in this same situation a couple of years ago after Rich Bisaccia took over for Jon Gruden and led the Raiders to the playoffs. But the team still chose to go elsewhere and hire Josh McDaniels instead of promoting Bisaccia, and they could choose to do the same thing here.
But while Bisaccia was loved, the support for Pierce in this moment is a bit different. The likes of Maxx Crosby, Davante Adams and Jack Jones have all been in great support of the Raiders interim coach and the team simply responds to him. Whether that would continue in future seasons is unclear, but as Strahan said, we deserve to find out, and Pierce deserves the opportunity.
The Raiders will weigh all of their options in the offseason, but by all accounts Pierce getting the job permanently should be strongly considered.
