The Raiders have begun their search for a new head coach, but there’s a chance that Mark Davis and his mysterious advisors will ultimately settle on keeping interim HC Antonio Pierce in the position.
Pierce is making a strong case for the job, and some have questioned whether the Raiders would be permitted by league rules to remove his interim title before the end of the season.
There are strict hiring guidelines with the NFL’s Rooney Rule, but according to Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter, the Raiders do not have to wait until the end of the season to hire a coach from within.
“Yesterday I called an NFL General Manager,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast. “I said ‘If the Raiders want to keep Antonio Pierce, do they have to go through all the interviewing and all that process?’ He said ‘No, he’s an interim in the building. [The Raiders] can hire him and it’s over.'”
Mark Davis has been accused of dodging the Rooney Rule in the past, but it’s hard to imagine anyone would take issue with his hiring process if Pierce was awarded the job.
Are there more qualified coaching candidates than Pierce? Definitely. Some might even be in the Raiders building.
But Pierce is the coach that the players want, and the most qualified coach isn’t always the most effective at the job. If Josh McDaniels taught us anything, he definitely taught us that.
twitter: @raidersbeat
Why are so many people hellbent on retaining this coach? YES, he has won the locker room. YES, he won his first two games and was competitive in the third. But, the two wins were against two of the bottom third of the league right now and the loss was against a solid team and our offense looked stagnant again most of the game. I’m not saying he’s not the guy but without a body of work to look at and lack of NFL coaching experience, we really should let the season play out and then decide if he really is the man for the job. Personally, I hope he is and the Raiders finish strong or at least rather competitive but let’s see more than two should have win W’s and a should have lost L and not get us ahead of ourselves. It would be awesome if there are less changes in the off season and we can build on something he’s started but don’t just “hold my beer, check this out” just yet. My best to Coach Peirce I hope he earns it!
Agreed 💯