Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast on the Mindset of Raider Nation

Our latest episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider Podcast dives into the mindset of the franchise and more.

Oct 27, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce reacts against the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

HENDERSON, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raides are in murky territory with a first-year head coach in Antonio Pierce and a team struggling to find it's rhythm after so much hope and promise.

Our Hondo Carpenter and Zeke Trezevant break down the mindset and the state of Raider Nation in this episode of the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast:

Here is a partial transcript from Antonio Pierce's Wednesday media availability:

Q: How do you give Gardner Minshew confidence at this point?

Coach Pierce: "Everybody around him. Starts with the staff, starts with myself, starts with belief and letting him know, 'Man, go out there and let it go, let it loose.' And what do we got to lose at this point, right? 2-7. So, everything that's behind us is behind us, and I'm looking forward to everything in front of me."

Q: You made some changes to the offensive staff. Scott Turner's the offensive coordinator, you bring in Norv Turner and Joe Philbin is the offensive line coach. What changes can we expect to see? Are they going to be dramatic or subtle?

Coach Pierce: "I think we're all waiting to see that. We'll see it out here at practice today. Obviously, I'm not going to make no promises, but just wanted a change, wanted a spark, wanted different ideas. Bringing in Norv [Turner] as somebody who's been from the outside, obviously he's been watching our games. Lot of respect for Norv. He coached against me as a player. As I got into coaching, watching him from afar, and then obviously being with Scott [Turner] the last couple years. So, getting some more ideas, some outside ideas, different perspectives, game planning, how to attack the weakest link, how to get our players in the best position to be successful. That's what I'm looking forward to."

Q: You made that decision [changes with the coaching staff] quickly after the game. How much did it help you in terms of your game planning to do that so quickly? Coach Pierce: "Huge. I wanted to get it over with. Once I made my decision that we were going to move on, get those two gentlemen in place, get everything that we need to do from an HR standpoint of paperwork, and get them in the building and start working during our bye week to give ourselves 10 days to get ready for the Dolphins."

Q: How do you feel like the bye week went for the coaching staff and even the playersthat were away?

Coach Pierce: "Good, good. Needed it, man. Needed to take a good cold shower, cold bath, wash all that badness off that took place over the nine games. And I think our staff did the same. I know our players did, but they were still around the building, which is the best thing about it, right? People might question our locker room, might question our culture, might question me, but you can't question our commitment. So, we're committed to this bad boy and turning it around. So, when they got in here Tuesday, that's what I felt. That's what they felt from me, and hopefully you feel it right now."

Q: Thoughts on getting Michael Mayer back in practice and potentially playing going forward?

Coach Pierce: "Excited, man. It was good to see Big Mike [Michael Mayer] back, man. He looked good, had a little tan, so I don't know where he was at, but he was hanging out somewhere good. But he looked good, man. He's in shape, he stayed out here this entire bye week working out, getting himself back into football shape and around the team, around the building. And then, obviously, when we got together yesterday, everybody's excited, you heard a lot of knocking. But in the end, it's just business as usual, that's what Mike's about, business."

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