Raiders' Pierce Feeling More Confident Entering Training Camp as a Coach Than as a Player

Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce was one of the most respected players in the National Football League. Still, he is more confident entering his first training camp as a head coach than as a player.

Linebacker Antonio Pierce played nine years in the NFL, earning a Super Bowl ring with the New York Giants in the 2007 season. / Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK

Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce played in the National Football League for nine seasons and won a Super Bowl with the New York Giants.

He undoubtedly was one of the most well-respected players in the NFL during his playing days, as he was the anchor of a formidable Giants defense. While with the Giants, Coach Pierce routinely prepared himself to play at the highest level successfully and now has been tasked with doing the same as the head coach for another one of the most storied franchises in NFL history. 

During his time in the league, Pierce experienced his fair share of training camps at a time when the practice rules and regulations were different from what they are today. Pierce and those who played during his era would likely argue that training camps were more challenging then than they are now. For Pierce, the demands of training camp as a coach are much more mental than they are physical. 

As he enters his first training camp as a head coach in the NFL, Pierce feels much more confident entering training camp as a head coach than he did as a player. Pierce said that although it is his first training camp as a head coach, the dynamics are different as a coach than as a player. However, he still plans on using his training camp experiences as a player to help him do what he feels is suitable for the Raiders players.

Pierce noted that as head coach, he has much more of a say over what happens during camp than he did as a player. 

“I am more confident because, as a player, you don’t know what to expect,” Pierce said. “You were fighting for your life. Training camp back then was six weeks long. It was two-a-days. You were banging every day; it hurt. 

“Now, it’s a little different. Here, you can really gauge and control the tempo of your players of practice. There might be days where you say ‘we’ve got pads on,’ and if I don’t feel like it, we’re not going to have pads on. You control the narrative, obviously, as the head coach. I’m going to do what’s best for the players.”

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