Raiders' Antonio Pierce Tuesday Press Conference
The Las Vegas Raiders (7-8) will spend New Year's Eve in Indianapolis vs. the Colts (8-7) and are looking to bring in 2024 celebrating a New Year on their charter jet with NFL Playoff hopes still alive.
Antonio Pierce stepped to the podium to discuss the team's state and turn the page to the Colts after another historic win at Kansas City.
You can watch the entire Pierce press conference above and read the transcript below.
Darrell Craig Harris, Raiders Today
Interim Head Coach Antonio Pierce
Q: When the clock hit 0:00, what went through your mind? Saw the emotions on the field. Coach Pierce: "Yeah, finally. Finally, right? 60 minutes of football is what we've been working towards. Probably wasn't pretty all across the board in all three phases, but as a team, it's what we talked about at the beginning of the week on Tuesday, Wednesday, all the way untilthat Sunday night before the meeting. I thought guys did a good job of just sticking with the plan and kind of grinding it out. So, yeah, a lot of emotions there. Listen, man, this team's been fighting hard to get one of those wins on the road against a very qualified (team) and Super Bowl Champs, man. You beat them at their place, that's hard to do."
Q: What does it tell you about the offensive line when they're able to open up holes for Zamir White when everyone in the building knows you're going to run the ball? Coach Pierce: "I get to smile. Best part about it. I said it yesterday in the press conference, 'When I know that you know that they know, and everybody knows what we're about to do, and we still do it, that's our football.' No fair dodge, it is what it is. Strap it up, play. That's football in the month of December. That's what I'm used to, that's what I grew up seeing and watching with the Raiders myself. That's winning football."
Q: Is Zamir White earning more playing time even if Josh Jacobs comes back? Coach Pierce: “Like we evaluate everything, good players play. If you’re a good player and you're producing and helping us win, you win. But don't get it fooled, I mean Josh Jacobs is one of the best running backs in the National Football League. If we have somebody who can help us out and contribute, it's going to be right in that room, and Zeus [Zamir White] knows that. It was really good to see him finish the game the way he finished. Very strong, very violent, very explosive. Everything we've been seeing in practice came to fruition yesterday."
Q: There were some players who did notsee a lot of playing time under the previousregime, but you've given them some time. Who are some of those players who have impressed you so far? Coach Pierce: "I'll start with 51 [Malcom Koonce], start with [Thayer] Munford, go with Zeus [Zamir White], Big Mike [Michael Mayer] at tight end. Obviously, Jack Jones, that helped us. To be honest, a lot of guys. If you really look at it, really the last three weeks, you've seen the youth of our team from secondyear players to rookies really step up when their name is called. Let's go through the roster. Yesterday, left tackle [Thayer Munford], second-year player, left guard [Dylan Parham], second year player, quarterback [Aidan O'Connell], rookie, running back [Zamir White], second-year player. It's just impressive. Jack Jones, second year player. And then all those third-year players who really haven't contributed a lot like Malcolm Koonce really coming along and just being dominant now in back-to-back weeks. Wow, right? Wow. And when you have a guy like Maxx Crosby on defense, you're just waiting for somebody. We've been waiting for who's going to be that guy to step up and like, 'Man, look, this guy is going to get double, triple teamed. You have the one-on-ones buddy. You have to win them.’ And he's done that, and he's done an outstanding job. So, I can go on and on with that list, but I think those are some of the key players here that stood out."
Q: What can you say about the growth and development of Nate Hobbs? Coach Pierce: "Man, Nate's explosive, the maturity. I mean, we've moved him around quite a bit here over the last two years – corner, star, nickel – and he really makes his money inside. He's a very violent football player, he's explosive. He can tackle in space, he can cover, he's a good blitzer. I think when you look at Nate, I think it's just the game slowing down for him. He's playing a position where he has a whole route tree, right? They can do anything they want and he's going against, most of the time, one of the better receivers in the league because you find a way to get your top guy inside. And he's done an outstanding job for us of playing man,zone and blitzing. Again, that's credit to the coaches forseeing that and saying, 'Okay, what's the best for the player?' I know what we might want. I know what the world wants, but what what's best for the player and the team? And putting him inside and him really spending extra time in his film study and then working on his craft on the practice field is what I really appreciate because he really practices the right way."
Q: Going into the week, Jack Jones said, "If you stop the magician, the act is over." How much do you think the pass rush on Patrick Mahomes benefited the coverage and vice versa? Coach Pierce: "Yeah, I would love to see that Next Gen Stat with [Patrick] Mahomes and how much ground he traveled in coverage yesterday. Because when you can rush and cover the way we did yesterday, it goes hand-in-hand. We've been talking about it; you hear every coach talk about those two things playing together in one. But when you look at our secondary and the way they've had to cover now, in that game especially, for four, five, six seconds, and still be able to be matched on a body, I thought was really impressive. What was more impressive was the guys up front being relentless and not stopping. Did we always hit Patrick? No. Did we always get him on the ground? No. Was it always perfect? No. But it was relentless, and it was 60 minutes of it."
Q: It was over 1,000 yards. Coach Pierce: "That's what I thought. That's not the world he wants to live in, right? We understand that. Listen, not what we really thought it was going to be, but that's what we wanted it to be, and it worked out."
Q: Do you use the playoffs as any kind of motivator for the team? Coach Pierce: "Nope, Colts. That's how we've been focusing, what's in front of us. I can't control 2024, and that's in 2024. I'm in 2023 right now."
Q: What'sthe feeling you have towards your players after their performance yesterday when there was this sentiment around the league that how they perform on Christmas day is going to have a lot to do with if you remain the head coach going forward? Coach Pierce: "It's out of my control, out of their control. The only thing we can control is what we do on the grass and how it looks. And I'm going to keep saying it; as long as it looks right,sounds right and smells right, I'm fine with it. Win, lose or draw. And I'm going to be me, and they're going to be them. And when this bad boy is over with, hopefully it all works out and we're together for more years to come."
Q: Obviously, you'll be considered for the permanent position. How will you make your case to Mark Davis in terms of saying, 'I'm the man?’ Coach Pierce: "My resume is on the grass. What do you want? I can put up a fancy presentation, I've seen that before. I can put up stats, I can put up my resume, but the best thing that happened for me was an opportunity. I said this maybe last week, the worst day I was going to be as a head coach was my first day. And each day is my job and I really take pride in growing each and every day to get better. No different than when I was a player to get better. And by the end, you look at it, whatever your career was and whatever my coaching careers is, and you sit there and say, 'Look, this is what he was.' And hopefully Mark Davis sees improvement and growth within our team. He sees the style and play that he wants from the Raiders. He sees a fan base that's behind us. He sees a building that loves coming to work and loves being here. And people that's covering the team, enjoying covering the team. And at the end of the day, we got to win. And right now, my record, our record is 4-3."
Q: What role will beating Kansas City play in that? Coach Pierce: "We're 2-1 in the division. Beating those guys at home, how many times has that happened in the last 25 years with the Raiders? Does anybody know? Less than a hand full, so let’s go three. Most of those guys were gurus, not a defensive coach who never did it before, right? I did it a certain way, right? Did it our way, right? The Raiders way, right? He'll figure that out."
Q: In what ways do you feel like you've already grown in the job since day one? And as a head coach, do you have to look at football in a different way than you ever did before? Coach Pierce: "I mean, you're dialed in 60 minutes; players, coaches, calls, situations. At first, you’re like, 'Oh, I’m just worried aboutsituations,' Okay, what's the call offensively? Then you worry about situations. Okay, what's the call defensively? It's just being dialed in. I mean, it's an emotional and a mental rollercoaster to be honest. I don't care who you are, you're not prepared for this until you do it. And when you do it, you get better and better. And obviously the ones like we went against yesterday, he's really good, Andy Reid. And you got the ones that's been exceptional and doing it for a long time. You take your hats off to them and you want to be that guy one day, right? You want to have 200-300 games underneath your belt. But it takes time, and I would just say this, I lean on the people that have been there and done that for expertise and ways I can get better. But for me overall, it's just a constant growth and no different than my journey of life. Just keep going with it."
Q: What do you say to Aidan O'Connell after a day like yesterday? Coach Pierce: "Good win. You know the best thing he did yesterday? He took a knee three straight plays. Victory formation, best play in football. Undefeated."
Q: How much does his temperament help his teammates keep playing hard for him even when he’s not having his best game? Coach Pierce: "Yeah, this is going to be a tough one. I'm going to say it because I can relate. It's Eli [Eli Manning], man. It's just like, you good? 'Yeah, I'm good.' No, like you're good? Second quarter. 'Yeah, I'm good.' Third quarter. Fourth quarter. ‘We ain't complete a ball yet, you good?’ He'sstill good. Thatshocked me yesterday because I wanted to see if I was going to see that look in his eye. But he understood it was a team game, and yesterday wasn't his day. And the rest of the team carried him, and that's fine. That's okay. There's going to be days where this young man is going to have an opportunity to carry a team and this organization, and we're going to lean on him elsewhere. So, to have that, I call it a poker face and that even keel, that's fine. I don't need him to be AP [Antonio Pierce]. Don't be fiery, don't be passionate, don't be going crazy, getting bleeped every five minutes, don't do that. Just be nice and calm and under control and manage the game and don't turn the ball over."
Q: How big was it for Kolton Miller to come into the game for Jermaine Eluemunor late in the fourth quarter? Coach Pierce: "Yeah, really shocking. When it happened, I just looked around looking for offense line coach, Carm [Carmen Bricillo] and Cam [Cameron Clemmons], 'Alright, who's going in?' And I just saw the 6’8 dude running to grab his helmet. I'm like, 'What is he doing?' Because we're trying to take care of him and be smart. And he said, 'I'm ready.' What am I going to say? I just fell back, and I watched. And that's what you expect out of a leader, a captain on your team when the games on the line. His name wasn't even called, his number wasn't called. He called it himself and I'm going to fall back and watch, and that's what we did."
Q: How much does that tell you about your team that everyone's willing to sacrifice even though they're not healthy? Coach Pierce: “I mean, it goes even to Josh Jacobs right before the game. I thought he was going to play, he thought he was going to play. He couldn't play, and it was in the best interest that he didn't play. And that's what I'm going to do what’s in the best interest of the players. I remember this question was asked, maybe not to me but one of our players, what are we playing for? And it's kind of disrespectful. What are you here for? Why are you here working? Why do you cover us? It’s your job. You get paid to cover; we get paid to play. That’s 17 games, 18 weeks, it's our job until there's nothing left and then we go into the offseason. So, what this shows you is guys that love football. We got guys that love football here, that are passionate about it. They got pride about it, they got a sense of commitment to their family and to this organization, and that you respect.”
Q: Two-straight games of the defense scoring twice. Can you talk about that? Coach Pierce: “When was the last time that happened in Raiders history? Never.” Q: What are you cultivating in practice that leads to that? Are you stressing that? Coach Pierce: “I do it with our offensive players. When you touch the ball, touch the endzone. I was fortunate to play with some really good football players in my career and there's a couple that every time they touched it, they went to the endzone offensively. And then some defensive players that did the same thing, and I'm like, ‘Wow, okay.’ And then they would go back, maybe miss a play, and then come back and take the third play or so, and that just creates a habit. I know you guys can’t watch practice the whole time, but if you were to watch our practice, you will see that throughout. It don’t matter if it's a kickoff, punt, interception, fumble recovery; that guy is going to run into the endzone and the next man comes in and we just keep rolling. And that's just creating habits, man, muscle memory. How do you do something? Well, you do it consistently, and then when you turn it into reality you sit there and smile you get slimed on Nickelodeon.”
Q: Michael Strahan said on the broadcast that you're doing with this team what you did with your team that you guys won a ring with. What does that mean when a guy like Strahan is talking about you on national TV like that? Coach Pierce: “That’s the G.O.A.T, man. That’s big brother right there. It was hard to go to New York when you had a personality like that in front of you and next to you. But we always made a pact, we were always the last two in the tunnel shaking hands and welcoming everybody in and out of the tunnel. Strah knows how much he means to me and how much I mean to him. It's just respect. Here's a guy who did at the highest level in one city and the biggest city for a long time. Went out on top and he's doing really well off the field. And he's a guy that, regardless that he's not in coaching, you really model yourself after of how he carries himself as an individual.”
Q: Is there anything Maxx Crosby reminds you of Michael at that position? Coach Pierce: “Maxx is different now. Me and Big Mike talked about that now. What I would say is consistency. I didn't believe it when I first got here. They said Maxx is going to do that every day. I'm like, ‘No way. There's no way this guy can have that kind of juice each and every day and be bouncing off the walls.’ And damn, he does. Like, it's crazy. I've never seen nothing like it. And you always say that, no, no, literally. Marvin Lewis was here, and he said, ‘I’ve never seen nothing like it.’ And I said, ‘I told you. This guy just doesn't stop.’ And that's consistency and that's what you see in guys that will eventually at some point wear a gold jacket.”
Q: Thoughts on the Colts? Coach Pierce: “A physical football team. They came in here last year and got after us pretty well. We're going to expect their best football obviously. They're good up front. Both sides, right. O-line, D-line we got to deal with. Big running back, we saw that last year. It wasn't pretty for us. And quarterback, we got to be careful with this guy. He's tricky, and he's tricky good. And he's done a really good job for them really just coming in, and you can’t even tell, like is he a backup? You wouldn't know. I would think he was the starter since day one, the way he's playing, the way the team plays around him. Well- coached team. Obviously, their defensive staff knows our players very well and they run a very good scheme for their team. It's going to be a physical game. It’s the 24 Hour Rule. It was a great, great, great, great plane ride home on Christmas Day, but today's December 26. We are getting ready to play these boys on New Year's Eve and that's going to be fun.”
The Silver and Black continue the season on New Year's Eve versus the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Don't miss it on Sunday, December 31, at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST. Please tell us your thoughts when you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
