For the last 20 years, the Raiders have struggled to find consistency as a team. They’ve made the playoffs just twice since 2003 and have lost both games. Their last win in the postseason was the Super Bowl in 1983. In 2011, Al Davis passed away and his son Mark Davis took over as owner of the team. 

Since then, the Raiders have had eight different head coaches. Josh McDaniels started the 2023 season as Las Vegas’ head coach, but he was fired after a 26-14 loss to the Lions in Week 6. A majority of the season was still left when McDaniels was fired and Davis named Antonio Pierce as the interim head coach. From what players have seen, they are pushing for Mark Davis to hire Pierce as the full-time head coach.

Has Antonio Pierce done enough to be promoted to full-time head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders

Will the Raiders keep Antonio Pierce as their permanent HC pic.twitter.com/KwiaIWKOxr

— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) January 4, 2024

In eight games as the interim head coach of the Raiders, Antonio Pierce has gone 4-4. He has a chance to end the season on a high note in Week 18 with a win at home vs. the Broncos. Las Vegas beat Denver in Week One 17-16 and would love to sweep the season series. It would be an exclamation point on what has been a rollercoaster season for the Raiders. After the head coach was fired, many through Las Vegas would be lifeless.

However, Antonio Pierce has shown he’s a true leader of men and has the team fighting even when they won’t make the postseason. His players have bought into the message he’s given them over the last two months. Pierce has adapted on the fly and looks capable of taking over as the full-time head coach. High-profile players like Davante Adams and Maxx Crosby have endorsed Pierce as worthy of being their next head coach. We’ll have to see if owner Mark Davis feels the same way.

Maxx Crosby has thrown his support behind Antonio Pierce to become the Raiders’ full-time head coach https://t.co/R2WmUDPofM

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 5, 2024

In 2021, head coach Jon Gruden was fired mid-season by the Raiders. Special teams coach Rich Bisaccia was named the interim head coach and many players pushed for him to be their new head coach. However, owner Mark Davis went in another direction and hired Josh McDaniels. That was the wrong decision after McDaniels had to be fired mid-season in 2023. If Davis wants the trajectory of his franchise to change, he’ll hire Antonio Pierce as the new head coach. Otherwise, there could be a lot of uproar and dissatisfaction from his players.