The Las Vegas Raiders Need to Fire Antonio Pierce
It wasn’t too long ago that the Las Vegas Raiders had won five out of their first nine games under interim head coach Antonio Pierce. The players and fan base were fully in on Pierce as the successor to Josh McDaniels. They appreciated the new energy and coaching style he brought, which felt like a relief after the McDaniels reign. However, after owner Mark Davis removed the interim tag from Pierce’s title, making him the official head coach, things have not gone well. The Raiders are currently 2-7, having lost their last five games, and they occupy last place in the AFC West.
To be fair, luck hasn’t been on the Raiders’ side. They were enamored with Jayden Daniels in the NFL Draft, and, according to Rex Ryan and ESPN, even offered as much as three first-round picks to try to draft him as their quarterback of the future. However, quarterbacks like Michael Penix, J.J. McCarthy, Drake Maye, and Bo Nix were all off the board before their pick, leaving the Raiders to start the season with the tandem of Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew at quarterback. Additionally, in their search for an offensive coordinator, they seemed to have reached an agreement with current Commanders offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury before he backed out. With other targets taking different jobs, the Raiders were forced to settle for Luke Getsy, and the results have been bad — really bad. The Raiders rank dead last in EPA per play on offense, running the most basic and uninspired game plans each week. Drives often consist of run-run-pass, followed by a punt.
In the hopes of improving their miserable offense, the Raiders fired Luke Getsy as offensive coordinator. During their bye week, CBS reported that the Raiders held one of their infamous team meetings to discuss the need for more structured practices and gameplans. With a staff that includes experienced coaches like Marvin Lewis, Tom Coughlin, Rob Ryan, and members of the Turner family, there should be no lack of game plans or practice structure. The team needs to show discipline in every facet of the game. The locker room appears splintered, with players making “business decisions” on the field.
