The Las Vegas Raiders sent former head coach Antonio Pierce out for an end-of-season press conference Monday and then fired him Tuesday, ending what was described as an "awkward" conclusion to his brief tenure.
"It was a situation so awkward inside the team's headquarters that, according to sources who spoke with Yahoo Sports, Pierce had already started discussing potential coaching staff changes hours before he learned he was losing his job," Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports wrote Thursday.
It wasn't supposed to be this way for Pierce and the Raiders in 2024. After all, they went 5-4 with him as the interim coach to end the 2023 campaign, which generated plenty of momentum heading into the new year.
However, that momentum quickly dissipated as the Raiders went 4-13 under Pierce this season.
Along the way, the Raiders traded star receiver Davante Adams to the New York Jets and saw starting quarterback Gardner Minshew II suffer a season-ending broken collarbone after going 2-7 as a starter.
Cycling through Minshew, Aidan O'Connell and Desmond Ridder at quarterback didn't exactly set Pierce up for extended success, especially in an AFC West division that has Patrick Mahomes, Justin Herbert and Bo Nix under center on the other three playoff-bound teams.
Rookie tight end Brock Bowers was about the only bright spot for the Raiders this season. They are now looking for a new head coach to help correct course.
As for Pierce, other teams may recognize the difficult situation he was placed in during his time with Las Vegas and give him a chance down the line. The former NFL linebacker was the defensive coordinator at Arizona State and linebackers coach with the Raiders before he was promoted to head coach. He could catch on somewhere as a defensive coach.
Perhaps things will be less awkward at his next destination than they were in his final hours with the Raiders.
