Playing a waiting game with Antonio Pierce’s and Aidan O’Connell’s futures
With Week 18 in the books, the Las Vegas Raiders’ season is officially over as we shift our focus to the offseason. The Raiders have big decisions to make regarding head coach and quarterback over the coming months and that’s the focus of the final NFL Power Rankings roundup.
Sports Illustrated
30. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 23
The Raiders are most certainly taking their time letting the world know what becomes of Antonio Pierce. But count me among those curious to see what he does with a bit more of a runway. Pierce struggled to find his identity this season in terms of a game manager, but his veteran heavy staff could have more time to click this offseason and yield something interesting. — Conor Orr
Sports Illustrated is going through quite the pendulum swing when it comes to ranking the Raiders. Two weeks ago, Las Vegas was 30th and the club moved up to 23 after the win against the Saints, only to go back to the 30 spot after last Sunday’s loss to the Chargers. The analysis of Pierce is interesting though, and AP said during his press conference on Monday that he won’t be making changes to the coaching staff, if he’s retained, according to The Athletic’s Tashan Reed.
NFL.com
28. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 27
The coaching questions remain unanswered for now, even if that’s the first order of business for the down-and-out franchise. There were some nice moments in Week 18, with Jakobi Meyers topping 1,000 yards for the season and Brock Bowers putting a bow on what was the best season ever by a rookie tight end with a late touchdown. Aidan O’Connell also showed more good than bad in what was a positive stretch for him late in the season, but his interception flipped the game against the Chargers. The Raiders appeared poised to push them to a tough game, but the pick gave the Chargers life as they blasted their way to victory in the second half. It’s hard to imagine O’Connell entering next season as the unquestioned, unchallenged starter, but it feels foolish not to keep investing in him after his season was sidetracked by knee and thumb injuries yet still ended on the upswing.
Sitting behind three quarterback-needy teams in the NFL Draft and with an underwhelming free-agent quarterback class, the point about O’Connell getting another chance to prove himself as a starter is valid. I’d still expect the Raiders to bring in some competition this offseason but don’t be surprised if the 2023 fourth-round pick has another shot to be the guy during training camp, again.
Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images
The Athletic
24. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 24
One lesson learned: Don’t let the players hire the coach
Antonio Pierce was given the full-time head coaching job because the players liked him in his interim stint to finish the 2023 season. That now looks like an indication of how much they disliked former head coach Josh McDaniels and not how much faith they had in Pierce. The Raiders lost 10 straight at one point this season, and Pierce might be one-and-done in the big chair. — Josh Kendall
In my opinion, this is an oversimplification of the spot Mark Davis was in. Players wanted Rich Bisaccia to get retained but Davis didn’t listen and that didn’t work out. So, when guys like Maxx Crosby became more adamant in their support for Pierce, Davis ran the risk of essentially telling the players that their opinions don’t matter to him.
Don’t get me wrong, the owner is still on the hook for several bad head coach hires under his leadership. But he has done both strategies of listening and not listening to players, it’s just that neither has worked. Whatever route Davis chooses with the Raiders’ head coach moving forward, he better get it right as the fanbase is rightfully getting frustrated with his failures.
Bleacher Report
27. Las Vegas Raiders
Last week: 27
The Raiders have all sorts of issues to sort out, from potential coaching staff vacancies to a long list of impending free agents and, of course, a glaring question mark at quarterback. Mark Davis will listen to Tom Brady’s advice on how to turn the franchise around. Though we have no clue if Brady has a knack for rebuilding a franchise, he cannot be much worse than Davis, who’s hired five coaches and seen his team reach the playoffs twice since he became principal owner of the franchise in 2011. — Moe Moton
If you’re looking for optimism about Davis finally nailing the head coach hire, Brady has never been in his corner before but will be this offseason. It remains to be seen if that means Pierce will be retained or the organization will look for a new leader, but at least there’s a new voice in the owner’s ear.