It looks more and more likely that Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis may decide to keep the ultra-popular Antonio Pierce and name him the permanent head coach.
Word is Maxx Crosby will request a trade from the Raiders if they don’t make Pierce the head coach. In other words, there’s an awful lot of pressure on Davis to hold onto AP.
He made a mistake by not keeping his last interim coach, Rich Bisaccia, who was also extremely popular among the players.
Unfortunately for the Pierce supporters, this is a very unique year … The amount of elite head coaches who are available and up for grabs is virtually unprecedented.
Davis is someone who always looks to make the big splash. More times than not, he gets it wrong. However, with the likes of Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, Mike Vrabel, Jim Harbaugh and Jon Gruden available, settling on AP will be tougher than it seems.
If Davis does let AP walk, two things will be certain: #1. He will be hated by his players. #2. Pierce won’t be unemployed for long.
According to Hondo Carpenter of Raiders Today, the New York Giants are closely monitoring the situation and have identified Pierce as a “top target” for their vacant defensive coordinator position if he were to become available.
Told by a member of the New York Giant organization moment's ago if @AntonioPierce is not hired as the HC of the Raiders, "He would be a top target for our DC job."
— Hondo Carpenter (@HondoCarpenter) January 9, 2024
The Giants find themselves in need of a defensive coordinator after the (heated) resignation of Wink Martindale, who allegedly had a blowup with head coach Brian Daboll.
Antonio Pierce coming home to New York would be electric
— Charlie Quinn (@CharlieQuinnMMA) January 9, 2024
Pierce’s potential move to the Giants would make strategic sense, considering his impressive track record in transforming the Raiders defense.
There’s also the fact that AP was not only a former Giants linebacker but was one of the leaders of Big Blue’s historic Super Bowl XLII team.
If the Raiders are smart, which we know they aren’t, they’ll keep him. He did dang good.
— Holly 🏈 (@ChiefsNana) January 9, 2024
The question is will Davis hold onto Pierce???
There’s also the possibility that Davis hires a more established head coach and slides AP over to defense coordinator.
Pierce has already interviewed for the Tennessee Titans vacant head coaching position. He’s also expected to interview for the Atlanta Falcons open position … No matter how you look at it, he will be in demand.
BREAKING: The New York #Giants reportedly have a strong interest in Antonio Pierce to be their defensive coordinator, per @SInow.
👀
Pierce is a NYG legend, who won a Super Bowl with them and did a hell of a job as the interim coach of the #Raiders. pic.twitter.com/ROUbiIYDRH
— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) January 9, 2024
What do you think will end up happening?
It’s clear that Pierce has won the players vote – but we all know Davis won’t let that be the be-all, end-all when it comes to making the decision.
Has Pierce shown you enough to make you think he can be an elite head coach in the league?
Or should Davis go hard after Belichick, Vrabel, Caroll, Harbaugh, etc???
Antonio Pierce YOU ARE A NEW YORK GIANTS. pic.twitter.com/spe4o9yLt3
— Menezes #JDanielsGiants (@themoicanoman) January 8, 2024