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Major decisions are coming in the next several weeks and months that will shape the Las Vegas Raiders’ future.
But this was a day for Antonio Pierce to enjoy.
He and new general manager Tom Telesco were officially introduced Wednesday after owner Mark Davis removed the interim title from Pierce’s job title last Friday and hired Telesco on Tuesday.
“This is going to be my best day and I’m going to celebrate it and I’m going to enjoy it,” Pierce said. “I’m going to have fun with it because I know there are going to be some ups and downs. There are going to be some days where you want to go hide in a corner and don’t want to talk to nobody.
“That’s why when I first got the call from Mark that I went outside by myself and looked up to the sky.”
The two are now tasked with turning around a franchise that has missed the playoffs 19 of the past 21 seasons.
The 45-year-old Pierce gave the organization a boost of energy, however, when he was named the interim coach at midseason after Josh McDaniels was fired. The Raiders went 5-4 under Pierce to finish 8-9 overall.
Players rallied around Pierce, with defensive end Maxx Crosby publicly pushing hard for him as recently as last week. What role the player support had in Pierce getting the job is unknown because Davis didn’t take questions from the media after introducing his coach and GM.
“AP came in in short notice and produced on the field,” Telesco said. “Just the way he galvanized the team, he galvanized the building, he galvanized the fan base. That is a huge part of it because you have to get that right. So to have that in place obviously (is) a big part of taking this job. To have a leader like this that we’ve already seen on the field what he can do, it’s exciting.”
Telesco, 51, comes over from Los Angeles, having been the Chargers’ general manager since 2013 before being fired with coach Brandon Staley on Dec. 15, the day after losing 63-21 at Las Vegas.
Telesco praised his former AFC West rival Raiders for being an…
Source link : https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/major-questions-loom-for-the-raiders-as-antonio-pierce-and-tom-telesco-take-charge
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Publish date : 2024-01-25 02:27:04
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