The writing was on the wall for former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce when star receiver Davante Adams requested a trade back in October.
Adams, who was one of the more outspoken players about wanting Pierce to be named the Raiders’ permanent coach after stepping on an interim basis the previous season, wanted out of Vegas as cracks in his relationship with Pierce were starting to show.
Questions started to crop up about whether or not Pierce had lost the locker room, and as the team lost 11 of its final 13 games, owner Mark Davis decided a fresh voice was needed and Pierce was fired after one-and-a-half seasons with the team.
While most understood Davis’ decision, it was met with skepticism from several others, including star edge-rusher Maxx Crosby, who was adamant on the team making Pierce the permanent head coach last offseason.
During a recent episode of “The Rush” podcast, Crosby seemingly sent the Raiders front office a subtle warning that whoever it hires as its next head coach could have a significant bearing on whether or not Crosby wants to stay with the team.
“There’s going to be a lot of decisions to be made, not only on a personal level — I’ve got to make the decision that’s best for me, and I’m going to see,” Crosby said. “Obviously, we don’t know what the coach is going to look like, the front office — there’s going to be a lot of changes again.
“I will say this, obviously, there’s been back and forth, everyone has an opinion about this and that, but Mark has been dope. Mark Davis, he truly wants to win more than anything, and that’s where we’re fully aligned. All I want to do is win. That’s the No. 1 most important thing to me.”
Las Vegas Raiders DE Maxx Crosby celebrates after a sack against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium.
Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
Since joining the Raiders as a fourth-round pick out of Eastern Michigan in 2019, Crosby has had four head coaches during his career (Jon Gruden, Rich Bisaccia, Josh McDaniels, Pierce). Whoever the Raiders hire next will be his fifth, and he made it clear he’s not interested in getting to a sixth.
Though Crosby has two years left on his current contract, there were rumblings about he and the team discussing a possible contract extension. The next head-coaching hire will likely factor significantly into those discussions.
If Crosby doesn’t like the head-coaching hire, he could try and force his way out by requesting a trade, though it seems like he’s still a few steps away from escalating things that far.
“We’re going to see what happens,” Crosby added. “I truly love being a Raider, I want to win here. I want to win with the Raiders, but like I said, we’ll see. There’s going to be a lot of change and we’ll just take it one day at a time.”
