Antonio Pierce's first year as the Las Vegas Raiders' full-time head coach has not gone according to plan. The team is 2-8 entering Week 12, in last place in the AFC West and is on a six-game losing streak.
Over the bye week, Pierce fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello and offensive line coach James Cregg. It was a bold move for a first-year head coach to make, but it may have been a little more calculated than simply about the Raiders making a change.
Pierce admitted to the CBS broadcast team ahead of Las Vegas' Week 11 game against the Miami Dolphins that part of the reason he fired Getsy and the other coaches was to try and secure his job.
“I give Antonio Pierce a lot of credit because it’s not easy as a first-time head coach to make a decision halfway through your first season and say ‘I’m going to fire my offensive coordinator; I’m going to fire my quarterbacks coach and my offensive line coach,’" Jay Feely said on the broadcast.
"He was pretty transparent with us. He said because I want to be wearing these colors next year and he felt like now was the time that he needed to make that move.”
Pierce is clearly feeling the heat in his first season as a head coach but considering the Raiders offense only scored 19 points in the loss to the Dolphins, it's hard to imagine the move helped him much in the long run.
