The Las Vegas Raiders made a much-needed coaching change during the 2023 season when the team parted ways with the disaster that was Josh McDaniels in favor of Antonio Pierce, who took over the full-time gig in 2024.
Pierce immediately turned the Raiders around. Following a 3-5 start, Las Vegas made a run in the second half of the season that saw the team go 5-4 and nearly make the playoffs.
Things were better on both sides of the ball, too, and particularly on defense. Making the showing more impressive was the fact that the Raiders had a rookie under center during that time in Aidan O'Connell, who is now the backup to Gardner Minshew to start the 2024 campaign.
Despite all that, the Raiders' coaching staff is getting no love from ESPN's Benjamin Solak, who ranked Las Vegas' group as the worst in the NFL.
Here's what Solak said:
The Raiders were plucky under Pierce last year -- they went 5-4 after he took over -- but the interim often enjoys an unsustainable emotional boost. It's fun playing for a beloved positional coach or coordinator for a few weeks after the former, often disliked head coach is ousted. But that buff is only temporary, and Pierce is well beyond it now
They tried to give Pierce some handrails on his towering ascent, hiring Marvin Lewis as an assistant head coach. But the inexperience at offensive coordinator worries me -- Luke Getsy had two failed years of building around Justin Fields in Chicago before he joined this staff, and the Bears' offenses of the past few seasons were maddeningly sloppy on the field.
If Pierce can ride the ups-and-downs and grow on the job, I can see him being a good head coach in a few years -- a CEO with a strong culture, like Campbell or Tomlin. But that's a rosy, distant future. My expectations this season are low.
While Getsy's failed stint in Chicago definitely makes him a concern, we can't just simply forget about an experienced defensive coordinator like Patrick Graham, who had Las Vegas' defense playing at a high level last season.
Nobody is saying the Raiders should be much higher, but the combination of Pierce and Graham alone should bump Las Vegas up to a better spot.