Raiders Antonio Pierce Analyzes His First Full Offseason as HC After Cut-Down Day

Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce recently completed his first offseason as a head coach in the National Football League. He took a moment to analyze the experience.

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce / Darrell Craig Harris, Sports Illustrated

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce is entering his first season as a National Football League coach.

Although Pierce coached the final nine games of last season for the Raiders, this was the first time he was a head coach from the start of the offseason to the end of an offense for an NFL team. Pierce played many seasons in the NFL but had never experienced the offseason from a coach’s perspective.

Pierce’s lack of professional coaching experience was well-documented during the offseason before the Raiders removed the interim tag from his title. However, the Raiders offset his inexperience with the experience of General Manager Tom Telesco, who was previously the General Manager of the San Diego/Los Angeles Chargers.

Pierce said he appreciated Telesco’s and Assistant General Manager Champ Kelly’s presence throughout the process.

"It was good. I mean, [Tom] Telesco, again, a lot of experience there,” Pierce said. “Done it the last 11 plus years at another organization, but I think just sitting there with him, JoJo [Wooden], Champ [Kelly], and just kind of seeing the big picture things. I always use the word 'Band Aid', just not sitting there plugging things, and just really looking at the growth and development of our team and doing what's best for the Raiders, not just now, but the immediate future, right?”

Since becoming the head coach, he has focused on ensuring the Raiders were set up for success, not just in the short term but also in the long term. Pierce plans to continue developing the team’s younger players, hoping to build the team’s depth over time. 

“So, we know that it's a 'win now' business, but I think it's also important when you look at our team, you see a lot of youthful and energetic players there that have a lot of potential," Pierce said. "It's up to our coaches to unlock that and those players to keep going forward. But it was really easy and pretty seamless with [Tom] Telesco, to be honest with you. And I think, to the players’ credit, they went out there and competed. So, I mean, you guys all saw what we saw in the preseason, and those guys were rewarded by being on the roster."

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