In a City Built on Luck, Pierce and the Raiders Had None

The Las Vegas Raiders were missing many things over the past two seasons, including Lady Luck.

Nov 29, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce watches play against the Kansas City Chiefs during the second half at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images / Denny Medley-Imagn Images

The one thing you never want to be in Las Vegas is unlucky.

Las Vegas was built on the idea of one stroke of luck being enough to change the fortunes of those who visit and those who live in the city. However, the less talked about but never too far-in-the-distance side of that coin is what happens when luck is nowhere to be found.

That was the case for former Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce, who found himself in a difficult situation while pursuing his dream of becoming a head coach in the National Football League.

After working his way up the coaching ranks from the high school and collegiate levels, Pierce joined the Raiders a few seasons ago as the team's linebackers coach. Then, Pierce received the shot of a lifetime, albeit in a challenging circumstance.

The Raiders fired former head coach Josh McDaniels after he could not get the most out of a roster he put together with an offensive scheme he claimed to be his own. Pierce was promoted shortly after, having to work with the remains of McDaniels' significantly flawed roster.

Pierce was handcuffed from the start. He was unable to make many changes midseason after taking over, as the trade deadline had already passed, and the Raiders were not in a position to make many meaningful trades even had the deadline not passed.

Pierce was handed a rookie quarterback drafted in the fourth round of the NFL Draft, who was on his second offensive coordinator during his rookie season. Pierce took those lemons and made lemonade, going 5-4 down the stretch.

However, even going 5-4 over the final half of last season was an unlucky conundrum for Pierce. Every coach wants to win, especially interim coaches wishing to prove they are right for their interim position or a head coaching position elsewhere.

Pierce proved he could lead a team, but going 5-4 moved the Raiders out of range for one of the top quarterbacks in the most recent NFL Draft. This would not have been a big deal had the Raiders not desperately needed a quarterback, and the draft's top quarterback not been Jayden Daniels, a quarterback Pierce was very familiar with and reportedly informed the Raiders he wanted to trade up for.

Daniels led the Washington Commanders to the playoffs and is one of the top Offensive Rookie of the Year candidates. The Raiders also spent the season shuffling through three quarterbacks after shuffling through three quarterbacks last season.

Talk about unlucky.

While the Raiders landed what looks to be a generational tight end in Brock Bowers, their most pressing issue has been their lack of a legitimate quarterback. The issue is worsened by the fact that they are in a division with two of the best quarterbacks in the league.

Then, after years of searching for a quality defensive end to play opposite Maxx Crosby, defensive end Malcolm Koonce came alive over the final eight games of last season after Pierce did what McDaniels refused to do and let Koonce develop by actually putting him on the field.

Koonce entered this season expected to be the defensive end the Raiders had been searching for after clearly growing into a legitimate professional player. However, days before the Raiders' first game of the season, Koonce suffered a season-ending injury, dealing a massive blow to Pierce and the Raiders.

Koonce's injury was the first of many, as the Raiders' defense would lose half its starters at one point, playing a significant role in the Raiders' 4-13 season.

Injuries, poor quarterback play, a bad roster, and bad coaching all contributed to Pierce's demise. Included in this was the failed Luke Getsy experiment which hampered the Raiders' offense for the first half of this season.

While it is debatable who decided to bring Getsy in, it was another example of things simply not going the Raiders' way in Pierce's lone season at the helm.

Still, no matter how much the best teams in the league train or how good their rosters are, they all need luck.

No team wins the Super Bowl or even gets there without some luck along the way. Pierce, a member of the New York Giants team that beat Tom Brady's undefeated New England Patriots in the Super Bowl many years ago, partly because of arguably one of the luckiest catches in NFL history, knows this better than anyone.

"You always want luck," Pierce said. "You always want the ball to bounce your way. We just weren't lucky enough this year."

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