(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
The Las Vegas Raiders will have a head coaching vacancy this offseason after the team fired Josh McDaniels after 25 games at the helm over two seasons.
Interim head coach Antonio Pierce already won more games this year (four) than McDaniels did all year, but it’s unclear if team owner Mark Davis will name him the full-time head coach or decide to bring in a different face of the team.
Former Raiders legend Howie Long, though, told Kay Adams on FanDuel TV’s Up & Adams show that Pierce should become the next head coach because of how he led the team in the locker room this year.
“Antonio has captured the hearts and minds of the players in that locker room,” Long said, “and that’s half the battle.”
"Antonio has captured the hearts and minds of the players … and that's half the battle."
Howie Long on if Antonio Pierce should be the @Raiders permanent HC @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/NTvJftjw9O
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) January 4, 2024
Pierce turned the Raiders season around after a dismal 3-5 start under McDaniels.
Las Vegas actually had a chance to sneak into the postseason after big wins over the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, but the Week 17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts ended all hope for a miraculous comeback in 2023.
Pierce galvanized the locker room, though, and several players have already come out in support of him becoming the full-time head coach for next season.
But the players don’t make those decisions, and Davis may be more interested in bringing in a veteran leader to run his team.
There will be several high-profile head coaching candidate names out there – some even with previous head coaching experience – that may be more enticing than Pierce.
The post Howie Long Has A Clear Choice For Next Raiders HC appeared first on The Cold Wire.
