Antonio Pierce’s first year as the Las Vegas Raiders’ full-time head coach has not gone as planned. The squad is currently 2-8, ranked worst in the AFC West, and on a six-game losing streak. Over the bye week, Pierce fired offensive coordinator Luke Getsy, quarterbacks coach Rich Scangarello, and offensive line coach James Cregg.
It was a risky move for a first-year head coach, but it could have been more strategic than merely the Raiders making a change. Pierce stated to the CBS broadcast team prior of Las Vegas’ Week 11 game against the Miami Dolphins that one of the reasons he dismissed Getsy and the other coaches was to keep his job.
“I give Antonio Pierce a lot of credit because it’s not easy as a first-time head coach to make a decision halfway through your first season and say ‘I’m going to fire my offensive coordinator; I’m going to fire my quarterbacks coach and my offensive line coach,'” Jay Feely said during the show. “He was fairly open with us. He said, “Because I want to wear these colours next year, and he felt that now was the time to make that decision.”
Pierce is certainly feeling the heat in his first season as head coach, but given that the Raiders offence only scored 19 points in the loss to the Dolphins, it’s difficult to picture the move benefiting him in the long run.
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