Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce Empowering His Coaching Staff This Offseason

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce didn't have much time to prepare before taking over halfway through last season. This season, he's trusting the coaching staff he's put in place to help make the team, and himself, better.

Nov 12, 2023; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce watches game action against the New York Jets during the second half at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports / Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

The Las Vegas Raiders' coaching staff is filled with coaches with years of playing experience in the National Football League. Coach Antonio Pierce was sure to hire plenty of coaches with many years of NFL coaching experience for his coaching staff. One of Coach Pierce's main lessons since becoming the team’s head coach is that he can only be in one place at a time.

Pierce has begun trusting in and empowering his coaching staff to take the reigns of their respective position groups, as he can only do so much. 

“I can't do everything,” Pierce said last week. “I can't be in every room. Just like right now, we've got meetings going on. I can't be in there. But it really started with our staff, having them present in front of the entire staff different projects, both offense to defense to special teams, getting some of our younger coaches to speak up and talk. As you can see, we hired, I think, a really good staff, and it's a lot of us, 29 coaches to be exact.

“There's a lot of knowledge there, and it's a shame if we don't share that knowledge, not just to the coaches but to our players. So, I want to make sure that they know that their voice can be heard; they can speak, but at the same time, there's a time and place, and everybody knows their role. But I would be a fool not to have the gentlemen that I brought in this building speak and have that empowerment to talk to the players and vice versa."

Raiders’ defensive line coach Rob Leonard appreciates Pierce’s confidence in him and the other members of the coaching staff. Leonard said Pierce's trust in the coaching staff has not gone unnoticed. 

 "It's awesome. It's the pillars he just talked about this morning, creating trust,” Leonard said. “When your head coach echoes. 'Hey, listen to your position coach,' I mean, he's got to trust me first in order to say that, but players can sense all those when staff isn't aligned, and I'm very aware of that. 

“Feenes [Matt Feeney] coaches the outside backers. He spends the most time with the SAM [linebackers.] I've coached the outside backers, so when J-Rob [Janarius Robinson] or some of those guys come to me, I'm like, 'No, no, no. Go to Feenes. Go talk to him,' to create trust that he knows - no crack in the foundation. Does that make sense? It's not that I can't answer the question. It's, 'that's his department, and I'll echo what Feenes is saying. Because it could be the same thing.' But if I'm not saying it the exact same way he's saying it, then it can create doubt. You want them fully confident in what you're asking them to do."

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