Chain Reaction: Las Vegas Raider Hire Antonio Pierce As Head Coach

Chain Reaction is something new I’m working on. Basically, after a big move goes down, I’m going to try and break down all of the people affected by the trade/signing/firing/cutting/resigning/re-signing.

Raiders are working to finalize a deal to hire Antonio Pierce as their head coach, per sources.

Raiders made Pierce their interim HC on Halloween night and now are closing in on making it a full-time job. Players who campaigned for Pierce soon are expected to be happy. pic.twitter.com/OAJTur9ZJ0

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 19, 2024

The Las Vegas Raiders are signing their interim head coach, Antonio Pierce, into a full-time role. Let’s see how this effects everyone:

Antonio Pierce: The Raiders went 5-4 with Pierce running the show following the firing of Josh McDaniels at the end of October and although that win-loss record doesn’t sound super impressive but the Raiders were 3-5 when Pierce took over before he immediately won his first game against the Giants in a 30-6 BEATDOWN. The Raiders ended the year with victories against the Chargers, Chiefs and Broncos—all AFC West division rivals.

“HATRED and VIOLENCE and PAIN.” – Antonio Pierce’s message to his team, according to @TracyWolfson pic.twitter.com/FLhBQADKrN

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 25, 2023

Antonio Pierce had the Raiders operating like trained assassins out there. It feels like coaching is 50% preparation and 50% motivation. Antonio Pierce has the motivation side of the game mastered.

I haven’t played competitive football since the 7th grade and I’m convinced I’m one Antonio Pierce pregame speech away from recording an NFL sack.

Josh McDaniels: Last time Josh McDaniels failed as a head coach with the Denver Broncos, he was able to go back to his old job as the offensive coordinator in New England. And then in 2018, he accepted the job as the new Indianapolis Colts head coach before he withdrew his name and returned home once again to the Patriots almost as if there was some unspoken agreement he would take over the team when Bill Belichick retires.

But McDaniels realized Belichick was never going to retire so he finally severed ties with the Patriots and became the Raiders head coach. He lasted a year and a half before being fired and now Jerod Mayo is running New England after usurping power in McDaniels’s absence.

Now Josh is unemployed and his ol’ girl don’t want him no more.

Maxx Crosby: This season, Maxx Crosby finished with 90 tackles (23 tackles for a loss), 31 QB hits and 14.5 sacks. He was named second-team All-Pro. He is objectively the star of this Raiders defense and he threatened to demand a trade if Antonio Pierce wasn’t named as the head coach.

This might be the first time in NFL history a star white player used his power to secure a job for a black head coach who was absolutely going to be replaced by a nerdy dude in his 20s who is Marty Shottenheimer’s step-nephew. The NFL hiring process is almost entirely about who you know and fortunately for Antonio Pierce, he knows Maxx Crosby.

Jimmy Garoppolo: Jimmy G has one year left on his contract and it’s very clear his new head coach has zero interest in allowing him onto the field. Garoppolo was benched for rookie QB, Aidan O’Connell. And I’ll be honest, O’Connell kinda sucks and Antonio Pierce would rather him go out there and do nothing than Jimmy Garoppolo.

At 32 years old, there is enough film on Jimmy G for 32 NFL teams to know what he is and more importantly, what he’s not.

Now, if a QB gets injured before Week 1 next season, I could see someone trading for him but it’s safe to say, with Pierce being named the head coach, Jimmy G is officially a backup quarterback for the remainder of his career.

Brian Daboll: The New York Giants season ended with a wee bit on controversy. Defensive coordinator, Wink Martindale, essentially quit the team after cursing out head coach, Brian Daboll. The Giants defense finished 1st in takeaways this season. But apparently, Martindale and his assistants attempted a coup of the locker room leading to Daboll firing Martindale’s assistants and war breaking out in the coach’s room.

I get the feeling Daboll thought the Raiders would hire a different guy so Antonio Pierce would return to the team he won a Super Bowl with. Daboll thought he had leverage over Martindale almost daring him to quit but with Antonio Pierce off the market, the Giants are going to need someone to run their defense because lord knows an offense led by Daniel Jones isn’t going to be outscoring teams.

Robert Sarver: A few years back, ESPN did a full investigation into the Phoenix Suns front office. They reported on former owner, Robert Sarver, casually using the n-word including a conversation he had with his front office regarding the next head coach signing in which he attempted to convey his theory that a roster mainly consisting of black players would prefer to play for a black coach.

Robert Sarver was quoted as saying “these niggas need niggas”. Sure, Sarver may have been forced to sell his basketball team but he can smile today knowing his head coaching beliefs are manifesting.

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