Raiders Name Antonio Pierce As Head Coach
The Las Vegas Raiders have officially appointed Antonio Pierce as their Head Coach, confirming his promotion after a successful interim period.
A spokesperson said, “Antonio Pierce has been named Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders. Pierce, a nine-year NFL veteran player and a former Super Bowl Champion, team captain and Pro Bowl selection, posted a 5-4 record in nine games as Interim Head Coach of the Raiders in 2023.
“Pierce was in his second season as linebackers coach with the Raiders prior to being named Interim Head Coach on Oct. 31, 2023. He led the Silver and Black to a 3-1 record against AFC West opponents, highlighted by a franchise-record 63 points in a Week 15 win over the Chargers, and led one of just three NFL teams to score 20-or-more points in each of the last four games of the regular season.
“Under his guidance, the Raiders finished the season with the fewest penalties in the NFL [75] and twice completed games without a single penalty flag. After Pierce took the helm in Week 9, the Raiders were tied for 10th in the NFL in takeaways [14], tied for fifth in turnover margin [+6], and tied for third in sacks [30]. The defense also allowed a league-low 16.0 points per game.
“In his first season with the Silver and Black in 2022, Pierce helped in the development of rookie linebacker Luke Masterson, who finished with 50 tackles [26 solo], ranking third-most in the NFL among undrafted rookies and second-most in a single season in Raiders’ history by an undrafted rookie. Pierce also guided Divine Deablo as he averaged 9.25 tackles per game, the 11th best average in the league.
“Before entering the NFL coaching ranks, Pierce spent five seasons at Arizona State, serving as linebackers coach before adding the titles of associate head coach and defensive coordinator. In 2021, Pierce was promoted to defensive coordinator and helped the Sun Devils’ defense rank first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense [20.8], first in total yards allowed per game [326.3], tied for first in defensive touchdowns [three], second in interceptions [16] and second in sacks [27].
“Prior to ASU, Pierce spent four seasons as the head coach of the Long Beach Poly High School football program. The Long Beach, Calif. native played collegiately for two seasons at the University of Arizona after transferring from Mount San Antonio College. He played in 23 games and totaled 152 tackles, 20 tackles for loss and seven sacks for the Wildcats.
“Pierce entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Washington in 2001 and played four seasons with the club before signing with the New York Giants as an unrestricted free agent in 2005. Over his nine-year career, Pierce played in 115 games with 85 starts, totaling 732 tackles [462 solo], eight sacks, seven interceptions, eight forced fumbles and 11 fumble recoveries. He was a member of the Giants’ Super Bowl XLII championship team and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2006.
“Pierce is grateful for the support of his wife, Jocelyn, daughters, Jayla and Destini, and sons, Anthony, De’Andre, Carmelo, Preston, and Santana.”
