Antonio Pierce is making a strong case to be retained as the Raiders head coach, but he isn’t expected to get head coaching interviews outside of Las Vegas.
One of the reasons for that, according to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, is that Pierce is too much of a Raider.
Appearing this week on NFL Network’s The NFL Report, Garafolo said teams outside of Las Vegas don’t seem ready for a coach like Pierce, who has been doing the ‘full Raider thing’ in his nine weeks as the team’s interim head coach…
“He’s a little outside of the box because he went from linebackers coach right through being a coordinator… He also came in and said ‘I’m going to do the full Raiders thing. That’s me. That’s who I am.’ He’s genuine about it and so it’s going to rub people the wrong way.
He’s not going to be many people’s idea of what a head coach should act like. But, you know what? Sometimes out of the box thinking and out of the box hires [work].”
Whether he’s a conventional coach or not, there’s no question that Pierce has won the heart of the locker room and the fan base.
Players have been endorsing Pierce for weeks and he walked off the field after Sunday’s win over the Broncos to one of the most memorable scenes in the brief history of Allegiant Stadium.
The question now…
Will Raiders owner Mark Davis have the guts to retain Pierce or are his sights set on Jim Harbaugh?
twitter: @raidersbeat
Garafolo a insider? LOL he’s just a hater!