Coach said he hasn’t been told he won’t be back
There is nothing official, but Antonio Pierce expects to return as the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2025.
Team owner Mark Davis said last month Pierce would be evaluated after the season and Davis hasn’t publicly said anything since the team’s season ended Sunday with a 4-13 record. It is not known whether Davis has made up his mind.
But it was an indication that Pierce may be safe because the team allowed him to do his season-ending press conference Monday morning. Davis could always decide to relieve Pierce of his duties later, but a delayed decision, at this point, would be a bad look.
Sunday, after the game, Pierce said “no comment” multiple times when asked about his job security. Monday, he said “he hasn’t been told anything different” to make him believe he won’t be retained. He also said all of the talk about his job security was coming from outside the building and not inside it. But, the reality is, Davis created the speculation last month when he declined to give Pierce a vote of confidence,
Monday, Pierce said he doesn’t expect to make any changes to the staff. But he will have to conduct Rooney Rule searches at the offensive coordinator and quarterback jobs that were created by mid-season firings.
It seems like interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner would be a heavy favorite to return. Pierce liked the way the offensive looked under him. The Raiders averaged 18.6 points a game in nine games under the fired Luke Getsy and they averaged 17.6 points a game in eight games under Turner. They scored, at least 20 points, in five games under Getsy and twice under Turner.
The team may also have to hire a defensive coordinator. Patrick Graham is a free agent and could decide to go elsewhere.
As far as lessons learned in his first full season as an NFL head coach, Pierce said he hopes to go with his gut decisions more in 2025. He said he did a better job of that as an interim coach in 2023 than he did in 2024. Pierce went 5-4 in 2023 and 4-13 in 2024.
He also said he regrets choosing Gardner Minshew as the starter in August over Aidan O’Connell. He also said he may take a different approach to training camp. He said a tough training camp may have contributed to many of the Raiders’ injuries this season.
In the end, Pierce said he understands why some fans are frustrated and he appreciates the support the team got this season.
“When you win, everyone’s (saying) ‘AP, AP.’ When you lose, it’s ‘get rid of his ass,’ ‘‘ Pierce said.
Will Pierce return as he expects? Time will tell, but it seems like it’s pointing that way.