Will Raiders stick with Antonio Pierce as head coach or pursue a big name?

Antonio Pierce has one more chance to, as he has said, improve his résumé on the grass.

Like his 4-4 record since replacing Josh McDaniels on Halloween night, Pierce’s résumé is a mixed bag.

He has brought energy to what had been a lackluster locker room, and the Raiders defense has been better this season. On the flip side, Pierce has struggled with in-game decisions — often punting on the opposing team’s side of the field and misusing timeouts.

None of that might matter if owner Mark Davis already has his mind made up to again chase the shiny object and make a play for a coach such as Jim Harbaugh, who has led Michigan to Monday’s national championship game against Washington.

But if Davis is still considering removing the interim tag from Pierce’s job title, then Sunday’s season finale against the Denver Broncos could take on extra meaning for the coach and his staff.

“At the end of day, everything will be looked at by wins and losses, and I think that’s fair and that’s what this business is about,” Pierce said. “But I do also think it’s about what do you build in the foundation? And I think for the most part in these eight or nine weeks, it’s been a solid foundation that we’ve built as a team and as an organization that we can look on and say, ‘OK, those are things that went well and there’s some other things that we can do better.'”

Pierce’s future isn’t the only question for the Raiders as the season comes to an end.

Las Vegas will have to decide what to do at quarterback. Aidan O’Connell has had promising moments but hasn’t proven he will be more than a mid-level quarterback. That’s especially bad timing for him given that next year’s draft is considered the strongest at that position in many years.

There are positions throughout the lineup that Raiders management will have to evaluate, and with the team mathematically eliminated from the postseason, players who haven’t seen much action could get a closer look on Sunday.

So while it would appear the…

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Publish date : 2024-01-03 15:07:22

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