Raiders tried to do the same experiment as two other rising teams and it has backfired miserably in their own face
The Las Vegas Raiders, when they fired Josh McDaniels last season, turned to the one guy on the coaching staff who could relate to the players the most. They turned to the one guy who, during a very difficult time, made the locker room still feel something. Of course, they made the decision to hire […]
The Las Vegas Raiders, when they fired Josh McDaniels last season, turned to the one guy on the coaching staff who could relate to the players the most. They turned to the one guy who, during a very difficult time, made the locker room still feel something. Of course, they made the decision to hire former Super Bowl-winning linebacker and linebackers coach Antonio Pierce as interim head coach.
The season ended fine, given everything that happened. They didn't get worse, and even in some aspects were better. Heck, they nearly had a shot at a wildcard spot. Then the decision came down to what feels like Pierce or John Harbaugh, although it also feels like the Raiders never had a chance with Harbaugh, as the Michigan Wolverines head coach at the time, was destined to go back to his former team, the Los Angeles Chargers.
With ultimatums, blackmails, and players giving their pitches for Pierce, the Raiders took a shot and hired him as the full-time head coach. And, they had a good reason to outside of the players having Pierce's back. There was proof in front of their face that it could work.
Raiders' coaching experiment failed
The Detroit Lions and Houston Texans both signed former players, passionate guys, who played the game physically and nasty and were position coaches before. They also were players' coaches, where they were able to relate to the players. That would be none other than Dan Campbell and DeMeco Ryans.
The Raiders tried that with Pierce, and, hey, that's fine, they tried something that was trending and that has worked with other teams and went for it. But, it hasn't worked and has in fact backfired in their face. You could say that it's going miserably.
And, it is. But, at the same time, this is a team that needs a lot of work. And, while Pierce is technically in his second season, and 2-8 in his second season, the other coaches made significant leaps or didn't have a down year in their first year. Campbell was 3-13 in year one, 9-8 in year two. Ryans was a playoff team in year one.
Now, that doesn't mean it still can't work, but so far it has backfired.
The Raiders play the Denver Broncos this weekend, and then will play the Kansas City Chiefs after.
Antonio Pierce is already making Raiders’ history
The Raiders beat the Jets on Sunday Night Football.
