Interim coach Antonio Pierce has emerged as a prime candidate to become the Raiders' full-time head coach, with support from key players in Las Vegas, league sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
There will be other options for Raiders owner Mark Davis to consider, but as one source said, “I would have been flabbergasted if Antonio wasn't the choice.”
The Raiders have not held any further interviews with the head coach. Sources told Schefter they have interest in Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, but the focus is on Pierce. Pierce, 45, is also interviewing with the Tennessee Titans on Saturday, sources said.
Following the Raiders' season-ending 27-14 win over the Denver Broncos, owner Davis told ESPN he was “really excited” about the job Pierce did in leading the team to a 5-4 finish after taking over as interim head coach.
When Davis first promoted Pierce from linebackers coach to interim coach after firing Josh McDaniels on Halloween night, he told ESPN he didn't want Pierce necessarily “coaching” as much as he wanted to “lead” and “delegate.”
Raiders players bought into Pierce's leadership style, with All-Pro wide receiver Davante Adams saying he would “run through a wall for this guy.” Three-time Pro Bowl rusher Maxx Crosby, who had a career-high 14.5 sacks this season, also expressed his support for Pierce.
“It's legendary,” Crosby said after the season. “When you have the right culture, a guy like AP embracing the history of the Raiders, it's special. … A lot of legends [visit] Constantly because of the amount of respect they have for him. So it makes you, as a player, want to go out and show who you are. you know what i mean? “You want to be at that level one day.”
At 8-9, the Raiders finished second in the AFC West, two games better than last season, after breaking away from the division champion Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers and sweeping the Broncos.
Pierce went 3-1 in the division, and the Raiders were in every game they played, finishing with impressive wins over the New York Giants (30-6), Chargers (63-21), Chiefs (20-14) and Broncos (27-14), to Besides, bizarre losses to the Minnesota Vikings (3-0) and Indianapolis Colts (23-20) kept them out of the playoffs for the 19th time in 21 seasons.
Before being named interim coach, Pierce's only coaching experience was at the high school level, at California Power Long Beach Poly from 2014 to 2017. Since then, he has served as an assistant at Arizona State and joins McDaniels' staff in 2022.
ESPN's Paul Gutierrez contributed to this report.
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