The Raiders have taken some criticism for the way they fired Antonio Pierce on Tuesday and one of their notable critics has been The Athletic’s Vic Tafur.
Tafur talked about Pierce’s firing on Wednesday and detailed his issues with the way the situation unfolded.
“They clearly had a path in mind. And now, I just think it’s another bad look for the Raiders,” Tafur said on the Just Win podcast. “I mean, just having the guy go out there and talk to the media. Who cares about the media, but talking to the players afterwards, kind of telling them his vision for next year.”
“He was excited, he’s coming from a very positive meeting from what I was told, and players are like, ‘Alright, let’s go work.’ But just again, to have this drawn out for two days, the guy is in his office waiting to hear the bad news,” Tafur continued. “I think obviously Tom Brady is a big factor in this and his talks with Mark [Davis]. But just have a plan four days ago. Don’t wait until the last minute. Don’t wait until you start off behind everybody else. Everybody else has got job interview requests out, and everyone else is kind of already moving. I’m sure they have guys in mind, but those guys are probably already talking to other teams.”
For what it’s worth, it sounds like the reason the Raiders deliberated on Pierce was related to the feedback they were getting from one or more candidates they were interested in hiring.
According to NFL insider Josina Anderson, the Raiders were looking into at least two candidates in the days leading up to Pierce’s firing and something about that process is what held up the decision on Pierce.
“I’m told the Raiders have been continuing to look into at least two candidates in particular that have peaked the interest of ownership behind-the-scenes,” Anderson reported on X. “The availability and interest of said prospects was what was causing the delay on a official decision on Antonio Pierce.”
It’s anyone’s guess who might be the front runner for the job in Las Vegas, but the belief is that they want to bring in someone with legitimate experience.
Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter talked about the search on Wednesday and he believes experience is going to be a big factor in who the Raiders choose to hire.
“I believe what the Raiders are doing is I believe that their goal is… they want an experienced head coach who’s going to come in and grip this franchise and take it somewhere,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
“You may have no doubt that’s exactly what they want. I have zero doubt. That’s not speculative,” Hondo continued. “They know what they want. That’s why I think they’re going to end up with an experienced head coach.”
x: @raidersbeat
From Just Win: A Podcast Covering the Las Vegas Raiders: BREAKING NEWS | Raiders Fire Head Coach Antonio Pierce, Jan 8, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/just-win-a-podcast-covering-the-las-vegas-raiders/id1759421406?i=1000683168622
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Yeah whatever, bro was not good! Over his head, made HORRIBLE DECISIONS, but we are all suppose to be like, oh your feelings, f his feelings! This is the NFL and things move fast and quick. Mark!!!! Let’s go
This is a ship wreck in the desert. The Coaches and GM’s are the NOT the problem. The Davis family curse is the problem. Ibrahim Davis (aka Al Davis) stole this team from Wayne Valley (allegedly) in a hostile take over while Valley was on vacation out of the country, way back when. I’ll gotten gain does not end well, so Mark Davis sell to remove the curse.