REPORT: Critique of Raiders' Pierce Unfair or Valid?

Antonio Pierce is off to a 2-6 start to his first year as the Las Vegas Raiders' full-time head coach.

Sep 8, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce reacts in the first half against the Los Angeles Chargers at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Many had expected the Las Vegas Raiders to be on their way to brighter days with Coach Antonio Pierce at the helm.

Pierce had led the Silver and Black to a 5-4 record in his nine games as interim head coach last year and defeated all three of the Raiders' AFC West rivals, including the Kansas City Chiefs.

But this season has been anything but progress, as the Raiders have actually take a step backward, now sitting at 2-6 through eight weeks.

How much of this is Pierce's fault, though? When teams struggle, it's natural to point fingers at the person in charge, especially when it's a first-year head coach.

Tyler Brooke of The 33rd Team believes Pierce is at fault for his in-game decision-making and management.

Brooke gave the Raiders' hiring of Pierce a "D" grade in a recent article where he graded each "new head coaching hire through NFL Week 8."

"Antonio Pierce shouldn't be blamed for the Las Vegas Raiders failing to find a long-term answer at quarterback this offseason," Brooke wrote. "However, he should be blamed for some baffling game-management decisions.

"Game management issues popped up again this Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs. Prior to halftime, the Raiders had the ball for a potential two-minute drill to get points going into the locker room. Instead, they ran the ball twice before throwing a third-down incompletion, giving the Chiefs the ball back with enough time to kick a field goal of their own to end the half.

"Pierce has made other questionable decisions this season, including using timeouts at the end of the Rams' loss.

"On top of his questionable decision-making, Pierce called out his own players earlier this year for "making business decisions" before eventually apologizing for the comment.

"It's not like the Raiders were expecting to be a playoff team in 2024, but the way Pierce has handled crucial moments throughout the season should have fans questioning if the team made the right hire."

Some of this is true, but as far as offensive play-calling goes, that's on Raiders offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, who has been more responsible for Las Vegas' losses than Pierce.

There's also simply the matter of execution. At the end of the day, it's the players on the field who have to execute, and the Raiders have failed do so a number of times this season.

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