NFL’s Antonio Pierce On Hiring Process & More
[Written by Patrick Bean]
This year’s post-season has been unlike any other for former New York Giants star middle linebacker Antonio Pierce, who has strong Bermuda connections, as he found himself a much sought after commodity among the National Football League’s [NFL] coaching ranks.
Before eventually being hired on by the Las Vegas Raiders as full-time head coach Pierce made the rounds on the league’s coaching carousel, having drawn interest from the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons, even as it seemed unlikely that he’d leave Raider Nation, having inspired the team to a 5-4 record in the last nine games, after taking over after Josh McDaniel was fired.
While appearing as a guest on ESPN’s popular Pat McAfee Show on Tuesday, Pierce said that he had always envisioned returning to the team he’d adored throughout his youthful years growing up in Compton, California. He was yet grateful to have gone through the interview process with other organisations before accepting a contract — terms were not disclosed — with the Raiders, owned by Mark Davis.
“Just to go through that process,” said Pierce. “What I told Mark is that I know that he may have made the decision off of the noise or what he felt pressured to do.
“I told him that when you make your decision. When you go home at night. I want you to sleep well, like that’s my guy. No second guessing.
“If you’re second guessing let me go. Let me walk. So we had a great conversation.
“I think the formality with the other interviews was a great process with the other teams.
“I didn’t want to cheat any of this process. I wanted people to poke holes in me and my process and what my vision was for a football team in the National Football League and get feedback, right.
“I know it one way right now and that’s the Raider way. But it’s good to hear from other people, from other GMs, other organisations and how they see things. What they see when they saw Antonio Pierce and the Raiders for those nine weeks.
“So for me it was great feedback, great opportunity for me to get better, but Mark Davis and Raider Nation knew where I wanted to be this whole time.”
McAfee also the one-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion whether the interviews were mere formalities, whether it was always the Raiders or bust in his mind.
Pierce reiterated how he needed to experience the manner and ways of other organisations to aid his personal growth as a coach and leader.
“I think what I got out of it was just the process,” responded Pierce. “How you look at your staff. What is your philosophy looking at the draft, free agency, how to build a team.
“How do you set the culture. How do you maintain the culture. How do you work together with people with that ability. How do you get together with communities and deal with outreach and things of that nature.
“And then also, when you talk to other organizations everybody runs their place a little different. It’s kind of like you do this, you don’t do that. That’s really cool what you do and you take it and say, ‘What can we do better Mark? What can we see from outside? Because the owners are a really tight knit group, where they don’t really talk.
“There’s all of these secrets and back channels, so when you try to infiltrate that a little bit and get some little bits of information it makes us better.”
One of Pierce’s first major tasks will be addressing the offensive side of the ball, as most of the Raider’s coaches are not expected to be retained, including interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree.
Meanwhile, the NFL’s showpiece game, the Super Bowl, takes place on Sunday, pitting San Francisco 49ers against defending champions Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium — home of the Raiders — in Paradise, Nevada.
