Las Vegas Raiders' Rob Ryan gets deep when asked about head coach Antonio Pierce
The Las Vegas Raiders had to make a change in the middle of the season last year. It was one that was needed, and probably too late, as the fan base wanted Josh McDaniels gone before the 2023 season even started. They wanted him gone halfway through his first season, as he took a playoff […]
The Las Vegas Raiders had to make a change in the middle of the season last year. It was one that was needed, and probably too late, as the fan base wanted Josh McDaniels gone before the 2023 season even started. They wanted him gone halfway through his first season, as he took a playoff team and turned them to a team that won just six games. And, to make matters worse, the roster he got was much better than the one that made the playoffs.
When the change was made, not many knew who Antonio Pierce was or what he was about until he had his first press conference. As soon as he talked to the media, you could say he won them over as well as the fan base. And, it has been uphill ever since. Of course, there have been bad moments as well like the shutout loss to the Minnesota Vikings. But, the wins have been pretty great.
It had been a while since the Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs. It had been even longer since the Raiders set a franchise record for points in a game like they did against the Los Angeles Chargers. So, it makes sense that the Raiders wanted to bring him back on.
And, let's face it – Pierce is as close to a Raider as it gets in a coach, outside of the famous coaches of the past, that is. Rob Ryan, a guy who has seen many iterations of the Raiders, got really deep when asked why Pierce is the right man for the job.
"Because he's real. Like, he's real," Rob Ryan said earlier this week. "Now this is the genuine article, he’s straight out of Compton, literally, so he's a complete badass and he’s just a great people. But he wants our players and our coaches to be themselves, so that's what's great. Like, he's not changing.
"You are who you are, like little Jack's Jack, Maxx is Maxx, but he wants you to be yourself and bring them all together and create a culture that is awesome to see and be a part of, and I've been through a lot of them, but I just absolutely love what he's doing. He's a star, and then he's got a son that’s going to be brilliant. Right now, he's on offense. I'm sure he'll be switching to defense because that's where he probably belongs, but he's special. You see him. He's real. Like, oh it’s coach talk. He ain't boring nobody. He is going to be himself and he’s going to make us winners.”
Ryan has been coaching for a really long time. Since 2000 he has coached in the NFL with eight different franchises. He was once with the New England Patriots at the same time as Bill Belichick, the greatest coach of all time. So, if he says he knows a good coach when he sees one, that's a guy you listen to.
And, hey, so far it looks like he's right. Pierce seems to be doing everything right.