In the wake of the Raiders season ending loss to the Chargers on Sunday, there was a span of 48 hours with a lot of uncertainty around the organization.
Was Antonio Pierce going to be fired or had he done enough with the team in 2025 to earn another year?
With rumors swirling for weeks that head coach Antonio Pierce was on the hot seat in Las Vegas, some believed it was a positive sign for Pierce’s job that the team allowed him to speak to the media for his usual Monday press conference.
While others downplayed the significance of Pierce’s press conference, more than one NFL Network report suggested Pierce was likely to keep his job.
”I know a lot of folks think it’s a foregone conclusion that [the Raiders] are going to make a coaching change, but those folks are on the outside,” NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported on Sunday.
”On the inside of the building it’s sounds like there’s a lot of optimism that Antonio Pierce will continue as the head coach of the Raiders… Davis has been pleased with the last couple of weeks, understands there’s not a lot of talent, and there is a lot of youth on the roster.”
The next day, Garafolo said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the Raiders issued a statement indicating Pierce was going to be back.
24 hours later, the Raiders issued a statement on Pierce, but it was news that the first-year head coach had been relieved of his duties.
It wasn’t a big surprise that Pierce was fired, but predictably, the way the Raiders handled the situation wasn’t particularly celebrated.
On Tuesday evening, NFL Network’s Judy Bautista shared her disapproval of the Raiders’ decision to fire Pierce and the way that it was carried out.
“To run him out there to do the season post-mortem yesterday, not having told Antonio Pierce anything about his own future, to let him go out there and do that, and then fire him 24 hours later is just poor [and] disrespectful,” Bautista said. “Owners need to get better at this. We’ve seen it happen before. It should not be happening.”
Bautista then shifted to the race dynamic and pointed to a statement from Rod Graves, who is the executive director of the Fritz Pollard Alliance…
“History supports the belief that firings occur much faster for Black head coaches and high-level executives in football. It is a fact that patience has been afforded more generously to our white counterparts.”
For better or worse, the Raiders’ handling of Pierce’s job was typical of the way they have handled plenty of coaches ahead of him.
Josh McDaniels was fired 21 months into his tenure with the Raiders and the organization took a far more significant financial hit with McDaniels’ $60 million contract.
And before McDaniels, who doesn’t remember the way Jack Del Rio unceremoniously announced his own firing in the press conference following the Raiders’ final game of the 2017 season?
There was a case to be made for Pierce keeping his job, but history doesn’t suggest the Raiders held him to a different standard than any of the coaches that came before him.
Ultimately, it sounds like the Raiders were still considering keeping Pierce as of Monday, and if they had kept Pierce but canceled his press conference, it would have sent another message that would have been scrutinized.
A year ago, the Raiders were celebrated for hiring Pierce despite his limited coaching resume, and as it is with everything else in the NFL, narratives change quickly.
Pierce is just 46 years-old and his career in coaching is just getting started if that’s the direction he chooses.
Despite his 9-17 record as head coach of the Raiders, which was a game worse than McDaniels at 9-16, Pierce leaves the organization with the respect of the players and should be a sought after assistant coach in this year’s hiring cycle.
x: @raidersbeat
As Jerry Granville one said the NFL stands for ( Not For Long ) if you are a loosing coach, you get fired.
I know we’ve all heard it, but… but… NO BUTS! again this organization needs an experienced coach and a 5 year plan!!! AP is a good coordinator, but was in way over his head, even with his entourage of former NFL coaches, he was in a awkward situation. I’m sure he’ll be just fine.
She’s just a Raider-hating moron. The Raiders have done more for minorities than any other team in the NFL!
AP should have requested the Jack Del Rio method of being fired. Just do it yourself.