Since Antonio Pierce became the Las Vegas Raiders’ full-time head coach last month after having the interim designation removed, it is now officially his show.
After the Raiders’ Week 8 loss to the Detroit Lions, Josh McDaniels was dismissed, and Pierce was named interim head coach. Pierce led Las Vegas to a 5-4 record.
Highlights of the Raiders’ tenure under Pierce included a Christmas Day road victory over the Kansas City Chiefs and a 63-21 demolition of the Los Angeles Chargers, which forced the Bolts to fire general manager Tom Telesco (who, ironically, is currently the general manager of the Raiders) and head coach Brandon Staley.
About the win, Pierce remarked, “I ain’t gonna lie—that felt good.” Do you know why? Since we were up 14-0 in the first game [against the Chiefs], I believe a lot of people kind of forgot that we had a few defensive lapses that kind of allowed the floodgates open, allowing Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid to get going. They got to work writing plays. Before you know it, the time is 31-17. “Goddamn, what happened?” is how I feel. “This time, we’re not going to do it,” I declared. We were going to hit them hard, which I thought we could do, but I intended to overwhelm them with our passion, vigour, and mental and emotional strength.
“Every play, I instructed Maxx to make sure he touched 15 [Mahomes].” We’re playing that mind game with Jack (Jones) and our DBs, so I made sure to tell them to “make sure you’re out there woofing as you’re calling out calls.” Additionally, I wanted to be as physical as possible when attacking the ball. Going into Arrowhead on Christmas Day, knowing that everyone is watching, was a wonderful experience.
“Every play, I instructed Maxx to make sure he touched 15 [Mahomes].” We’re playing that mind game with Jack (Jones) and our DBs, so I made sure to tell them to “make sure you’re out there woofing as you’re calling out calls.” Additionally, I wanted to be as physical as possible when attacking the ball. Going into Arrowhead on Christmas Day, knowing that everyone is watching, was a wonderful experience.
