Rich Gannon suggests the Raiders need to fire Antonio Pierce

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Antonio Pierce with Mark Davis.

The magic that Antonio Pierce captured during his mission as Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach last season has completely disappeared. He went 5-4 to finish the 2023 season but is off to a 2-7 start this year.

It was a risky move to give the full-time head coaching job to someone who had only coached at the NFL level for two years. The risk doesn’t pay off and it looks possible and Pierce will be one and done.

Former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon seems to think so. The former MVP seems to be all over Pierce.

“At some point you have to look at the entire business. I hope that’s what will happen at the end of the season,” Gannon said on “VSiN Live.“I can’t imagine Antonio Pierce coming back next year.”

Gannon knows the Raiders organization well. He was their starting quarterback for six years and has remained in their orbit. However, it is far from a guarantee that owner Mark Davis will fire Pierce. He has gone through four coaches since 2021 and may not be particularly keen to start another coaching search. The season will have to get even worse for Pierce’s job to be in serious jeopardy.

Is Mark Davis getting good advice?

Davis is honest about the fact that he’s not super knowledgeable about football. He has never played, coached or worked in a front office. Despite this, he is the one who has been responsible for hiring the Raiders head coach outside of Dennis Allen.

Gannon questions who Davis is getting advice from for him to consistently hire the wrong head coach.

“I don’t know who he’s listening to,” Gannon said. “Mark has had a lot of people in his ear over the years. I don’t know if he listens to and if he gets the right advice.”

With Tom Brady Now a co-owner of the Raiders, Davis’ advisor may change. He will likely lean on the legendary quarterback to help solve the problems that have plagued the franchise for over two decades now. Brady is as competitive as they come, so it’s unlikely he’ll stand idly by while the offense continues to make bad decisions.

What will it take for Antonio Pierce to be fired?

The Raiders are not a good football team under Pierce right now. He has already fired much of the offensive coaching staff he hired less than a year ago. The fact that he couldn’t put together a competent coaching staff is a big red flag.

The fact that Brady is now in the fold can’t help Pierce. He has no loyalty to the coach and could push Davis to make a change for someone with more experience.

But Pierce can still save his job. The Raiders have eight games left. If they can win at least three of them, he’s probably safe. If Las Vegas goes winless the rest of the season, it’s hard to imagine Pierce getting another chance.

The Raiders need stability at head coach but they can’t keep someone who is in over their head just because they don’t want to keep making changes.

Austin Boyd has covered the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Lakers for Heavy.com since 2019. A Los Angeles native now based in Las Vegas, his featured work at Heavy includes interviews with NFL stars Darren Waller and Joe Montana, and a behind-the-scenes watch “The Shop.” More about Austin Boyd