The Raiders haven’t confirmed that Antonio Pierce will be back next year, but that seems to be the direction things are trending.
NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo said an announcement on Pierce’s future could come as soon as Monday, and it was no small detail that Pierce met with members of the media for his usual Monday press conference.
Pierce talked about his growth as a head coach and mentioned one adjustment he wants to make in his approach to coaching the team going forward.
”I need to go with my gut. I was better at that last year,” Pierce said on Monday. “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 done things differently at the quarterback position going into the season.
It has been rumored that Pierce may have favored the idea of starting Aidan O’Connell at the start of the season, and he essentially confirmed that narrative on Monday.
Last month, Sports Illustrated’s Hondo Carpenter talked about the Raiders decision to go with Minshew at the start of the season and he definitely made it sound like former offensive coordinator Luke Getsy was one of the loudest voices in the building in favor of starting Minshew.
“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 December.
It’s water under the bridge now but look for Pierce to go with the quarterback he wants next year, and there’s a chance that quarterback will be Aidan O’Connell.
Unless the Raiders can pull off a trade for a quarterback like J.J. McCarthy or another high-profile backup, they probably won’t be in a position to get one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s draft.
University of Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders has watched his draft stock take a little bit of a hit in recent weeks, but will it be enough to drop him to the no. 6 pick in the draft?
x: @raidersbeat
I’m sorry, but this is kind of a cowardly statement. It basically insinuates AP was in favor of a decision that looks better in hindsight, but let the dastardly, incompetent OC, who already got canned and scapegoated (though his replacement was hardly better), talked AP into Gardner. Also, when looking at his game management decisions, something AP has already declared he mostly relies on his gut for, the Raiders were one of the worst teams in football. So why should fans have any faith in AP’s guts?
This is CYA type talk, and I don’t think it reflects well on AP.
BIG Giant Mistake to waste a First on Sanders… Get more Line Help or BPA. Draft Dart in 2nd or Third
Sorry Raider Nation, but next season will be a repeat of this year if AP is retained! WHY would I expect anything better from Mark “no clue” Davis!?
Why isn’t AP gone already?!
We have to remember at the last owner’s meetings Mark Davis said after the season they would have to evaluate the GM ,and the head coach so that doesn’t make a AP safe yet.
When in the AFC West, you have Andy Reid, Sean Payton, and Jim Harbagh, Antonio Pierce is NOT competitive with that trio. He flubs too much, is not a great teacher, does not select a QB to lead, cannot control the clock, cannot select a good Offensive Coordinator etc tc. We need a proven winner, not the locker room favorite. So far, tis cycle seems like Mike McCarthy or Vrabel, both with proven in loss record, and they know what the hell they’re doing