Former Raiders GM Mike Mayock commented on the Antonio Pierce hiring this week, and like a lot of people, Mayock thinks the pressure on Mark Davis from the players had an impact on the owner’s decision to hire Pierce.
“I think the pressure was on,” Mayock said this week on the Ross Tucker Football Podcast.
“Antonio comes in as an interim coach, has success, does really well,” Mayock continued. “And importantly, guys like Maxx Crosby, who we drafted in 2019 in the fourth round, and Maxx owns that locker room… I think his and other players’ influence on ‘No, we can’t have another change. You messed it up with Bisaccia. You better hire that guy.’ And I think that played heavily in Mark Davis’s decision [to hire Antonio Pierce].”
Davis probably hasn’t come across Mayock’s comments (or maybe he has), but it’s already clear that he doesn’t approve of that message.
Davis talked to The Athletic’s Vic Tafur this week and reiterated what Vinny Bonsignore has been saying for the owner for a few days now…
“There was a lot of pressure on me from the outside to hire Antonio for the head-coaching job, but I think people forget I was the one who hired him in the first place for the interim job,” Davis told Tafur. “When I interviewed him back then, I got the feeling that he was something special.”
It’s no secret that there were a lot of voices in the ear of Davis throughout the HC and GM hiring process, and it would be interesting to know who Tom Brady (among others) wanted to hire.
It sounds like Pierce was the popular pick of the team’s GM candidates and that probably played a role in Davis’s decision to hire Pierce before settling on a GM.
As for the new GM in the building, inquiring minds would love to know the real details to how Tom Telesco jumped ahead of Champ Kelly and Ed Dodds at the 11th hour to win the job.
Twitter: @raidersbeat
Guaranteed that in a couple years we will be doing this over. Pierce is not the answer, unless the question is name an overrated inexperienced sociopath NFL coach.
This is raider football. The guy from San Diego does not need to start bringing people from San Diego. Toledo Mack is lost speed played The offense shut him down. He did nothing against us. You need to stick to raider football doing your own pics. You’re in your own man. You, your own team, one of a kind raider Nation quit picking up people that are over the hill. You need fresh young blood
Mack had six sacks against us. 17 in 2023. How many did Maxx have against the same teams? You mighth want to rethink the comment.
What a complete failure as a GM. Really disappointed in the job Mayock did
should of gave champ a chance
It’s common in this world, nowadays,to trash others,to create disunity,a nation divided cannot stand, including Raider nation,the Raiders will be Superbowl champs in about a year or two,the owner doesn’t have to listen to anyone,but this owner did he listened to his consciousness,his players his fans,that is unity,in itself rise Raiders,and owner,Champs