The Las Vegas Raiders have announced they are firing Antonio Pierce after his first season as the full-time head coach.
Pierce led the Raiders to a 4-13 record in 2024, suffering a 10-game losing streak during the season. He earned the gig after leading the team to a 5-4 mark down the stretch as the interim coach the year prior. It has now opened up a sixth head coaching vacancy in the NFL as the Raiders enter the carousel.
Just a day ago, it seemed like the team was preparing for another year under Pierce’s watch. He held a press conference while sporting Raider gear and mentioned that he hadn’t heard anything about the team heading in a different direction. Pierce’s firing came as a surprise to many.
The Raiders are now one of six teams looking to hire a new head coach. The list also includes the New England Patriots, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, Chicago Bears, and New Orleans Saints. They’ll need to catch up to the other squads that have already begun holding interviews.
Fortunately for Las Vegas, there is a strong pool of free-agent coaches that could potentially fill the role. Mike Vrabel is arguably the biggest name available and is thought to be coveted by several teams. The Patriots are naturally a fit for Vrabel who played eight years in New England.
However, Vrabel’s former teammate, Tom Brady, is a partial owner of the Raiders and is believed to be influencing this upcoming coaching search. Could Brady lure Vrabel away from other offers to join Las Vegas?
If the team prefers a coach more geared toward offense, Detroit’s Ben Johnson, Tampa Bay’s Liam Coen, Buffalo’s Joe Brady, and New York’s Mike Kafka are all thought to be searching for a head coaching gig.
The hope is to find some stability with the next coach. This will be the seventh head coach Mark Davis has hired since taking over for the team in 2011. There are still questions all across the roster. The most glaring hole is at quarterback, which may or may not be addressed with the No. 6 pick in the upcoming NFL Draft.
No matter who they add in the offseason, it will be an uphill battle in a rugged AFC West that produced three playoff teams this year — all of which are led by elite coaches.
