The Las Vegas Raiders are officially moving on from head coach Antonio Pierce.
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After just one full season at the helm, Las Vegas is set to hire a new head coach. After the Raiders went 4-13 in 2024, they will be looking to make a big change.
Pierce took the reins as interim head coach for the Raiders when Josh McDaniels was fired following Week 8 in the 2023 season. Las Vegas would go 5-4 over their final nine games under Pierce, leading to many in the organization calling for the interim head coach to remain in charge.
The Raiders granted this request and hired Pierce to be the new head coach of the team. Despite the hope that the new head coach could turn the team around, Las Vegas was one of the worst teams in the NFL in 2024.
One of the biggest issues the Raiders faced was not selecting a quarterback in the 2024 NFL Draft. Though they picked tight end Brock Bowers, who has broken multiple records in his rookie season, a franchise quarterback was needed.
Pierce might not have had a lot of say in the draft process, and he faced a difficult situation in terms of the ailing offense that was proven in 2024. The Raiders would try Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew at quarterback, though both did not emerge as the answer the team needed on offense.
There were also major injuries that derailed the Raiders season, like losing star defensive end Maxx Crosby. Crosby suffered from an ankle injury through most of the season and finally revealed he would receive season-ending surgery to fix the issue.
Simply put, Pierce was faced with some huge issues that would have been difficult for any coach to overcome. Instead of allowing the young head coach to grow, he will now be looking for a new job.
Pierce was a linebackers coach for the Raiders before he was thrust into the role of head coach. It will be interesting to see if another team will give the defensive-minded coach a chance at a coordinator position in 2025.
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For now, the Raiders join the likes of the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars, New England Patriots, and New Orleans Saints as teams looking to fill their head coach vacancies.
The Saints could look to hire interim head coach Darren Rizzi as the team's next head coach, but that is not guaranteed.
For more on the Raiders, head to Newsweek Sports.
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