After a disastrous 2-7 begin, may Las Vegas’ Antonio Pierce be the subsequent one-and-done head coach?
In line with Charles McDonald of Yahoo Sports activities, since 2018, seven coaches have been fired earlier than the tip of their first season. Carolina’s Frank Reich was the final after he went 1-10 in 11 video games in 2023.
The Raiders fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy on Sunday night time, which is not an excellent signal. In his Monday column, Sports activities Illustrated’s Albert Breer reported there’s “pessimism in that constructing on the route of that group proper now.”
“A part of the difficulty thus far, as I’ve heard it, is the way in which Pierce patched the employees collectively, fairly than ensuring there was alignment on either side of the ball,” Breer wrote. “That led to coaches having to take a position time to show different coaches, which did not assist with the gamers.”
Final season, star gamers, together with defensive finish Maxx Crosby, vouched for Pierce to land the full-time job after he changed Josh McDaniels, going 5-4 in 9 video games.
Now, Pierce — a former New York Giants linebacker — could also be dropping his means to attach with the locker room.
Following an embarrassing 36-22 Week 3 residence loss to the Panthers (2-7), Pierce known as out a few of his gamers, saying they made “business decisions.” He later apologized for his feedback.
Pierce was in all probability making an attempt to encourage the group, however the technique hasn’t labored. The Raiders have misplaced 5 of their final six video games, and three have been by 14 factors or extra.
A number of of the Raiders’ issues stem from subpar QB play. Gardner Minshew has extra interceptions (eight) than landing passes (six) in eight video games.
Throughout his Monday news conference, Pierce did not make clear if he would stick to Minshew or flip to backup QB Desmond Ridder. Las Vegas QB Aidan O’Connell (proper thumb) is on injured reserve.
Nonetheless, elite HCs can thrive with out star QBs. Minnesota’s Kevin O’Connell has guided the Vikings to a 6-2 document with Sam Darnold as his beginning QB.
The Raiders should present indicators of enchancment after their bye. Pierce’s future with the franchise may change into extra unsure if they do not.
