How Does Raiders' Pierce Plan on Turning Things Around After Bye?

The Las Vegas Raiders are a bad football team. That will not change after a week off, but coach Antonio Pierce does hope to see improvement in this area.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Mike Hilton (21) gestures after tackling Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Tre Tucker (11) in the third quarter of the NFL game at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2024. / Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Las Vegas Raiders fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy just hours after their blowout loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. While the move was growingly expected, few expected it to happen as soon as it did.

However, with the Raiders on a five-game losing streak and entering their bye week, it made sense to make the decision as soon as possible to give the Raiders' new offensive coaches plenty of time to prepare for their next opponent. 

Raiders coach Antonio Pierce noted that he decided to make the move as soon as he did to give himself ample opportunity to find a new coordinator. However, Pierce also noted that making the move so suddenly gave the team a chance to accept the decision that was made and move forward.

“I think it gives me enough time, obviously, to really prepare for the [Miami] Dolphins next Wednesday with the players and staff,” Pierce said. “We'll do that starting Saturday, Sunday as we got a bye and guys kind of catch their breath for what just happened. 

“The timing does work out for the decisions that I made going forward. But it wasn't like I was going into each and every week thinking about making decisions. Had confidence in Luke [Getsy] that we would get it turned around. And once I felt like we needed to make a change, I did.”

The Raiders are dealing with numerous injuries to some of their best players. After settling on additional coaches to add to the offensive coaching staff, Pierce said he plans to take the time away to analyze every aspect of the team. 

Las Vegas undoubtedly needs a break, as the season has been a brutal one for the team mentally and physically. Last season, the Raiders' bye week fell as late in the season as the National Football League allows the bye week to be scheduled. Luckily for the Raiders, the bye week was scheduled much earlier this season.

 “I haven't gotten the injury report, but I'm sure it's pretty deep,” Pierce said. “I don't think we'll practice at all this week to be honest with you. We'll meet, we'll have some self scout moments. 

“We'll have some time to reflect and talk, and at that point take a deep breath, reset, reset as a staff, reset as a team, and then get back together probably more than likely on Monday and Tuesday."

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