BREAKING: Raiders Fire HC Antonio Pierce

The Las Vegas Raiders fired head coach Antonio Pierce after one full season as head coach.

Jan 5, 2025; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce watches from the sidelines against the Los Angeles Chargers in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders parted ways with head coach Antonio Pierce on Tuesday after his first full season at the helm.

Our Hondo Carpenter broke the story on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The Las Vegas Raiders are moving on from Antonio Pierce as their head coach, sources confirm moments ago

— Hondo Carpenter (@HondoCarpenter) January 7, 2025

Pierce came in as the interim coach in 2023 after the firing of Josh McDaniels, leading the Raiders to a 5-4 record in the process and earning a position as the coach full-time. 2024 was not as prosperous, with the Raiders encountering an abysmal 10-game losing streak and finishing 4-13 on the year.

On Monday, Pierce addressed the media after a finale loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, and he was confident about maintaining his position as head coach. He shrugged off the rumors.

"It's only coming from the outside," he told reporters. "It's not inside the building. So, to me, there's nothing to clean up until I hear from inside the building."

The Pierce tenure was short and ultimately forgettable. It was mired by an offseason-long quarterback controversy between Aidan O'Connell and Gardner Minshew II, and it did not end at the decision of who would become the starter.

There were injuries and poor playcalling from Luke Getsy hindered the Raiders early on. Interim offensive coordinator Scott Turner was able to turn it around some when he took the reins, but too little, too late.

That being said, Pierce acknowledged that through it all, the team and the organization were never fractured.

"I think it was critical, because again, the way the season went, the expectations that we have for ourselves, to go through that and never see this team point fingers at one another," Pierce said. "There was never any bickering. There were no in-house issues or fires or anything that was detrimental to the team. Even with movement with the staff or players, nobody flinched. There was no blinking. We just kept moving on, next man up mentality, and they really embraced that throughout the entire season. I'm really proud of how we finished, even last night. ... So, they really took a lot of pride. You can see the emotions and the hurt after that loss last night. That was sad to see from our guys, but like I told them, one loss, one season, that's not who we are and that's not going to define us."

The Raiders released a statement shortly after the firing:

"The Las Vegas Raiders have relieved Antonio Pierce of his duties as head coach. We appreciate Antonio's leadership, first as an interim head coach and this past season as head coach. Antonio grew up a Raiders fan and his Silver and Black roots run deep. We are grateful for his ability to reignite what it means to be a Raider throughout the entire organization. We wish nothing but the best for Antonio and his family in the future."

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