As of Tuesday afternoon, Antonio Pierce is no longer the head coach of the Raiders and the team has faced some criticism for the way they handled his departure.
Some believe Pierce deserved another year on the job and was never given the opportunity to coach the team with a viable option at quarterback.
Others were concerned the job might have been too big for Pierce at this stage in his coaching career. Even in his final press conference, Pierce made a series of comments that raised red flags to some.
”I need to go with my gut. I was better at that last year,” Pierce said at Monday’s press conference. “This year I didn’t do what I wanted to do as much as I wanted to do it.”
Initially, Pierce didn’t clarify what he was talking about, but later said he wished he would have listened to himself at the quarterback position going into the season.
Yahoo and FOX Sports host Jason Fitz talked about those comments on Tuesday during a segment on the Raiders’ flagship radio station.
“I hated everything about that statement. I’m going to be honest,” Fitz said on Raider Nation Radio’s Morning Tailgate. “When he says ‘I need to trust my gut more’ the immediate questions to come is, ‘Well, you hired like 372 advisors to put around you. So why did they not give you the advice to follow your gut? Or did you hire a circle of people that then have too much influence? Or are you now throwing other people that you work with every day under the bus on who made that decision?’”
“That, to me, is wildly concerning,” Fitz continued. “You can say that you’re going to listen to your gut, but at one point, it wasn’t just one week. There were multiple times that we were sitting here trying to figure out what the starting quarterback position looked like and why it wasn’t Aiden.
“I think it’s wildly concerning and I think it’s one of the things that he’s going to really have to answer to,” Fitz added. “Everybody involved in this is rooting for continuity and for the Raiders to be the best that they can be… but if the Raiders decide in the next few days that they’re going to move on, I understand why they’re going to do that. If they decide they’re not going to move on from Antonio Pierce, then all of these statements are things that they better have really clear answers for how it’s going to be different next year.”
For what it’s worth, there was a report in the first week of December that former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy played a big role in the decision to start Gardner Minshew at the beginning of the season.
Sports Illustrated insider Hondo Carpenter talked about that dynamic on his podcast last month.
“They’ve made some corrections, some massive corrections. They’ve got Aiden in there. I think, and I don’t know this, I’m not quoting him, I’m giving you opinion here. I believe that AP went with Gardner because that’s what, I know it’s what his offensive coordinator wanted, and I believe in my opinion that he acquiesced to trust his coordinator,” Carpenter said on the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast.
In Pierce’s defense, it’s not necessarily a bad thing that he took into account the opinions of his assistant coaches, but there’s a fine line between being transparent with the media and throwing your coaches under the bus.
In hindsight, Pierce’s comments didn’t translate the best and if he gets another big opportunity down the road, he probably learned a few lessons with the Raiders that will help him at his next career stop.
x: @raidersbeat
I was at the opening day game in Los Angeles and was wondering why Pierce didn’t start Aiden O’Connell. He got the job with Aiden play from last season. I also believe Aiden O’Connell can be a very good quarterback with the right offensive coordinator.
Every writer should be honest and transparent. From the minute that Raider ownership picked Telesco as GM , Antonio Pierce was set up for failure. First sign was Josh Jacobs, then
There were not re-signing reserve defensive lineman, then Perriman, then high drafted defensive backs, then d. Adams left. Telesco methodically let talent walk out the door. The
shame is Mark Davis let it all happen.
Except that going into the season, the Raiders set their season as playoff contenders. Not just fans, but the team itself, and its media apparatus… How many articles were written claiming the Raiders were being disrespected when pundits predicted they wouldn’t be good this year? Tons.
All the talk about keeping receipts for when those pundits were proven wrong, about how AP was a great choice, etc. Well, those receipts are all due, but not from the matinal pundits or analysts.
Now they did have injuries, but to suggest everyone should have expected a down year is revisionist history.
Tom Telesco should also be fired!!!
Thanks
The problem is MD! He hasn’t a clue about anything football, and needs to step down. Letting Jacob’s go was the final straw for me. Get out Mark, and let real football people run this Raider Nation!
Thanks
As Jed York famously said, “You don’t dismiss owners.” Unlike Jed York, Mark Davis hasn’t grown into the job and has actually gotten worse over the years.
The only hope is that the other owners, who have clearly never had much respect for Davis, to realize the damage he’s done to the Raiders, is also damage done to the league. The Raiders used to be one of the most relevant, marquee franchises in all of North American sports. Now they’re just a punchline.
People need to stop the AOC crap. He is not an NFL level starter. He never will be. His games last year were against weak Ds and teams who were clinched. AP was in over his head and never should have been the HC to start with.
The roster was a sham roster. Built by a mediocre GM with a loser mentality. AP isn’t in the clear, but the ingredients in the kitchen were lacking talent. And remember there were 3 people that decided on Minshew to start. The guy that paid him like a low end starter (Telesco), the OC that was clearly a panicked choice (Getsy), and AP. It sounds like AP didn’t want Minshew as his starter who would (besides Telesco & Gutless Getsy) ? They should’ve cleaned house! Telesco is more to blame than AP. And when we don’t hire Ben Johnson because Telesco is still here then there’s another season wasted.
For as much as he liked to demonstrate bravado and toughness, I thought it was a cowardly statement. And not the first time… When he refused to respond or take responsibility for his social media BS earlier in the year, it was a pretty big red flag.