Raiders’ Antonio Pierce: A mulligan or one-and-done?

The feel-good story has given way to a resounding reality check in Las Vegas

There were always going to be growing pains for Antonio Pierce.

While he did serve as the Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach last season which parlayed itself into landing the full-time gig, for all intents and purposes, “AP” is a full-time rookie. And, as is the case with a prospects taken in the NFL Draft, trials and tribulation are to be expected.

Pierce did well to help mitigate that by not only seeking counsel and mentorship from veteran coaches like Tom Coughlin, Marvin Lewis, and Adam Gase in his interim year but adding Lewis and veteran coaches Joe Philbin and (later) Norv Turner to his coaching staff this year.

Yet, despite all that knowledge in the building at Raiders headquarters in Henderson, Pierce’s growing pains have yet to become learned lessons. And that’s troubling.

His latest coaching gaffe was on full display during his Raiders’ 19-17 Black Friday defeat in Arrowhead against the Kansas City Chiefs.

I’m not going to beat a dead horse here — the particular thing I’m referring to was the final sequence that ended with the Chiefs falling on top of the loose football. It’s Pierce’s emphatic “No” when asked if he would’ve done things different in retrospect was telling.

Sure, it’s good to have conviction in your beliefs. But the stubborn response flies in the face of learned lessons. Lauded for being a leader of men — so much so that defensive end Maxx Crosby was willing to tell the team to foul off if Pierce wasn’t named the head honcho — AP has instead led the Silver & Black ship aground.

The team is 2-10 overall and ranked 27th in points scored (223 total, 18.6 average per game) and 28th in points allowed (333 total, 27.8 average per game). There are two distinct categories where the Raiders rank No. 1, however: Most turnovers (23) and least amount of takeaways (five).

Game management and situational football acumen just aren’t there for Pierce — even with the experienced coaches on his staff. Either Lewis and Co. are letting Pierce experience these growing pains unabated or they’re contributing to the gaffes.

And while the Raiders haven’t quit and are playing hard — to dispel the tank innuendo — it’s hapless defeats like the one the team experienced against the Chiefs that are so comical, it only adds more fuel to the “losing to get a better draft pick” malarkey.

Outside of having the locker room still behind him, Pierce’s initial season as the full-time head man is Josh McDaniels-type of bad. The feel-good story of Pierce’s ascension to what we’ve seen as his football team has lost eight-straight games is mind numbing.

Which begs the question: Does Pierce get a mulligan or is he one-and-done?

An Ailing Group

With nine players on injured reserved — five of which were starters or potential starters (defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, cornerback Jakorian Bennett, strong safety Marcus Epps, defensive end Malcolm Koonce, quarterback Gardner Minshew II) — the Raiders roster is decimated by injuries.

That hasn’t helped Pierce’s cause, for sure.

But it’s not a phenomena relegated to just Las Vegas.

Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions have been bitten hard by the injury bug but keep on winning. (Also, Campbell is often the name brought up by folk to showcase a one-and-done situation with Pierce isn’t ideal because you never know).

Clock management, situational football, coaching, you name it, that’s what’s in Pierce’s control and the results speak for themselves.

Contract Concerns

Contract terms for NFL head coaches aren’t publicly available and outside of a leak, it’s difficult to discern the amount of coin and term length of the pact a coach inks with a team. The terms of Pierce’s contract with Las Vegas are unknown but there’s been chatter it’s only two years in length.

In an interesting conversation between The Athletic’s Dianna Russini and former NFL quarterback Chase Daniels on a recent episode of Scoop City Podcast, the duo discussed Pierce potentially being on the hotseat but it’s what Daniels said that perked my ears.

“I would just imagine, especially since he’s got one year on his contract left, it’s not like the payouts really big. I would be surprised if he kept his job,” Daniel said.

He went on to note he doesn’t have any insider scoop and that’s what he things will happen, but if Pierce’s contract is of the two-year variety, the financial implications of moving on aren’t likely to be overly steep for owner Mark Davis.

Brady’s Bunch?

Just how much sway will Tom Brady have as minority owner?

In most instances, a minority owner provides the majority stakeholder coin to buy stake with the team. But don’t be surprised if controlling owner and managing general partner Mark Davis givers Brady sway. While Brady only holds a 10 percent stake in the team, Davis is highly likely to take whatever advice and direction the all-time great quarterback provides very seriously.

Russini penned a “What I’m Hearing” column for the Athletic in mid-November where she highlights Brady’s expected involvement in day-to-day Raiders operation.

“New Raiders minority owner Tom Brady represents “excellence,” according to Raiders majority owner Mark Davis. While Brady is busy broadcasting for Fox and may have only 10 percent equity in the Raiders, I expect his involvement in running the team to be closer to 90 percent,” Russini wrote. “We already know the organization wants to lean on Brady when picking a future quarterback. One of Davis’s strengths is his openness to listening to experienced football people, and he values Brady’s understanding of what it takes to win at a high level.”

Former Raiders fullback and senior advisor to Davis, Marcel Reece, had similar sentiments a month earlier when Brady’s acquisition of ownership stake in the team was finalized.

Aspuria’s Assertion

Pierce helms the Raiders in the final five games of the season and the team moves on from him this offseason.

It’s hard to ignore the hiring and firing of offensive coordinator Luke Getsy along with the in-game mismanagement numbers and with the rest of the AFC West sprinting towards success — the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) and Denver Broncos (8-5) have winning records and are in the playoff chase heading into Week 14 — likely results in a sense of urgency in Raider Land and a search for an experienced and seasoned head honcho commences.

While I wouldn’t be surprised if Davis and Brady keep Pierce in place and load him up with a top 5 pick (likely a prospect who can be a franchise quarterback) and another free agency haul; along with firing yet another head coach not being ideal, the Raiders need a franchise-altering offseason and that likely begins with the team telling Pierce “thank you and we wish you the best in your future endeavors”.