Raiders name Antonio Pierce interim head coach

Antonio Pierce (Ted Kerwin, Wikimedia Commons)

According to Aidan Champion of Sports Illustrated on Wednesday, the Las Vegas Raiders have named linebackers coach Antonio Pierce of Long Beach, California their new interim head coach. Pierce takes over from Josh McDaniels of Canton, Ohio, who was fired on Tuesday.

McDaniels was named the Raiders head coach on January 31, 2022, and had a record of nine wins and 16 losses with the Raiders in a year and a half. McDaniels also had a record of 11 wins and 17 losses in two seasons with the Denver Broncos from 2009 to 2010.

It is interesting that Pierce is the new Raiders head coach after being a McDaniels hire. He had no previous coaching experience at the NFL level before being named an assistant coach in 2022.

As a player, Pierce played nine seasons in the NFL with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants. He was a linebacker with the Redskins from 2001 to 2004, and with the Giants from 2005 to 2009. In 124 games, Pierce had 691 combined tackles (535 solo tackles and 156 assisted tackles), 39 tackles for a loss, seven interceptions for 169 yards, one pick six, 43 pass deflections, eight forced fumbles, 10 fumble recoveries for 17 yards, one fumble recovery for a touchdown and nine sacks. The interception return for a touchdown came in a 16-10 Redskins win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 12, 2004. The fumble recovery for a touchdown came in a 17-10 Giants win over the Dallas Cowboys on December 4, 2005. The following season in 2006, Pierce was named to the Pro Bowl. He had career highs in fumble recoveries (two), combined tackles (139), solo tackles (109), assisted tackles (30), and tackles for a loss (10). Pierce also won the Super Bowl with the Giants in 2008.

In addition to naming Pierce as head coach, the Raiders named Champ Kelly of Campbellton, Florida as their interim general manager. Kelly takes over from Dave Ziegler, who was hired the same time as McDaniels. Kelly was previously with the Denver Broncos from 2007 to 2014 as a scout, assistant coordinator of professional and college scouting, and assistant director of professional personnel. He then worked for the Chicago Bears from 2015 to 2021 as their director of professional scouting and assistant director of professional player personnel, and then with the Raiders since 2022 as their assistant general manager. In 2023, the Raiders have a record of three wins and five losses, and are third in the AFC West.

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