After last year’s optimistic end to the season, the Raiders were hoping to have a resurgence under Antonio Pierce in his first full season as head coach.
It hasn’t worked out that way, but after firing a few offensive assistants, weathering the drawn-out departure of Davante Adams and finally starting the better quarterback, the Raiders seem to be moving in a good direction again.
On Friday, the Raiders came within one snap (ok, technically two) of a beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead for the second consecutive year. The offense is starting to gain an identity, and the defense is playing well despite missing five starters due to injury.
With the Raiders starting to play better, team color commentator Lincoln Kennedy was asked by Raider Nation Radio host Q Myers if he has learned anything about the team in the last few weeks.
“It tells me that this coaching staff needs another chance,” Kennedy said on Raiders Nation Radio’s Unnecessary Roughness on Tuesday. “When you talk about the situation in which the Raiders are in… you came into the season knowing you weren’t going to have a quarterback, knowing you were going to try to play with some things and try to see if things would work your way…”
“They don’t have all the pieces,” Kennedy continued. “I’ll be the first one to admit that… but they do have some good pieces, enough to make themselves relevant and we saw the fight that they played with in that Kansas City game. They did make themselves relevant. So many issues we’re talking about.. it is what it is, but the thing is that they’ve shown a great deal of fight, [and] I think this coaching staff deserves another chance.”
Like others have pointed out, Kennedy mentioned that the offense seems to have turned a corner under offensive coordinator Scott Turner, and there is reason to believe the Raiders would be a playoff-caliber team with an upgrade at quarterback and the availability of some of their most talented players.
There has been a lot of speculation around Pierce’s future with the Raiders, and former Titans head coach Mike Vrabel is considered a strong candidate to be the team’s next head coach if Pierce is fired after the season.
For now, Pierce’s future in Las Vegas looks like a coin flip and the next five games will be pivotal in the decision. Minority owner Tom Brady is expected to have influence in the decision, but it’s worth noting that he was influential in the last two head-coaching hires.
Brady is believed to be a big part of the reason Josh McDaniels was hired three years ago, and Pierce was reportedly not Brady’s preferred pick a year ago.
“Pierce’s job is not safe and there is a growing expectation in league circles that Mike Vrabel is going to be the next head coach of the Raiders,” a Pro Football Post report indicated last month. “Brady was involved in the process that led to the hiring of Pierce, but sources have indicated that Pierce was not Brady’s top choice for the job.”
x: @raidersbeat
One of the reasons the Steelers are good is coaching stability. We can’t keep changing coaches every year. Jacobs said he left because of constant turnover . We should follow Kennedy’s advice and give this staff another year.
I agree we don’t need another coaching carousel
And why does he deserve another chance?
We need to stop the carousel and keep AP