The Raiders fired Antonio Pierce after his first full season as head coach Tuesday, the team announced, but are retaining Tom Telesco as general manager, a source told ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said he expects veteran running back David Montgomery, who suffered an MCL injury in the Week 15 loss to the Buffalo Bills and has been sidelined the past three games, to be ready for the NFC divisional round.
The Las Vegas Raiders will be searching for another head coach this offseason, as they have reportedly let Antonio Pierce go after one full season, the team confirmed in a statement.
Pierce was retained as the team's full-time head coach after taking over in an interim role for Josh McDaniels, who was fired midway through the 2023 campaign.
Raiders players showed more fight when he took over, and owner Mark Davis took that into account when conducting his head coaching search last offseason.
However, after going 4-13 in a tumultuous season, the Raiders will be back on the hunt to find the right coach to continue the team's rebuild.
"The Las Vegas Raiders have relieved Antonio Pierce of his duties as head coach," the Raiders' statement read. "We appreciate Antonio's leadership, first as an interim head coach and this past season as the head coach.
"Antonio grew up a Raiders fan and his Silver and Black roots run deep. We are grateful for his ability to reignite what it means to be a Raider throughout the entire organization. We wish nothing but the best for Antonio and his family."
Pierce spoke with reporters on Monday after the regular season came to an end, where he said he hasn’t "heard anything different" about his status. He said his focus would be on improving as a head coach.
"What I need to do a better job of, I need to go with my gut," Pierce said. "I was better at that last year. This year I didn't do what I wanted to do as much as I wanted to do it."
The Raiders have been a revolving door at head coach in recent seasons, with Jon Gruden resigning in 2021, followed by McDaniels getting fired after a season and a half.
Now, Pierce, who players like Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams (who would later be traded this past season to the New York Jets) gave the thumbs up for, will search for his next coaching opportunity.
Las Vegas joins a head coaching search with teams like the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots, who have already placed numerous requests for interviews to get the ball rolling on that front.
Top candidates that have been named are Detroit Lions OC Ben Johnson and DC Aaron Glenn, Pittsburgh Steelers OC Arthur Smith, former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and Tampa Bay Buccaneers OC Liam Coen.
Pierce's coaching journey began in high school at Long Beach Poly (CA) before making the jump to college with Arizona State in 2018 as a linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator. He would work his way up to defensive coordinator and associate head coach with the Sun Devils before returning to the NFL to the Raiders.
Pierce, a Super Bowl champion linebacker in his playing days with the New York Giants, was the Raiders' linebackers coach in 2022 and held the same position before serving in his interim head coach role in 2023.
When asked Tuesday during his season-ending news conference whether he would consider trading for a head coach, Bears GM Ryan Poles said all options are on the table.
While most fans may not agree with the New York Giants’ decision to stick with head coach Brian Daboll and general manager Joe Schoen following another disappointing season, the announcement was met with praise by one of the organization’s greats.
Former quarterback Eli Manning said in an interview with USA Today on Monday that Giants co-owner John Mara made "the right decision" in maintaining the organization’s leadership despite the 3-14 record because he believes the vicious coaching cycle can often work against a team.
"You've got to have that continuity," Manning said. "To change things up has not worked. It has not worked for the Giants these last 10 years of changing every two or three years.
"I think Brian Daboll has showed that he has won, two years ago in the playoffs. So I think the opportunity for them to go in, they've got to figure out the quarterback situation this year, but they have talent," he continued.
"They have guys around that are playing at a high level. It's just building that great team culture. That just takes time, and I think it's the right move to give him that time to do that."
Mara released a statement Monday acknowledging that the season was "disappointing," but added that he remains "confident" in Schoen and Daboll.
"Now that our season is over, we felt it necessary to make this statement. Joe Schoen and Brian Daboll will continue in their respective roles with the organization. As disappointing as the results of the season have been, Steve (Tisch) and I remain confident in the process that Joe and Brian have implemented and their vision for our team. We look forward to the future and achieving the results we all desire."
Speaking to reporters from the practice facility on Monday, Mara expressed his desire for the two to turn things around quickly.
"It better not take too long," he said, "because I’ve just about run out of patience."
There was little that went right for the Giants this season which was highlighted by their struggles with the quarterback position. After releasing Daniel Jones and failing to find consistency in their current quarterback room, Mara said it will be their top priority in the offseason.
"That's obviously the number one issue for us going into this offseason, is to find our quarterback of the future," he said. "Whether that be via the draft or acquiring a veteran, it's going to be up to [Schoen and Daboll] to decide, ultimately."
Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said he has a "lot of faith" in quarterback Jalen Hurts, who is still in concussion protocol, to get himself prepared in time for Sunday's wild-card matchup with the Packers if he's cleared to play.
Mercury star Brittney Griner said the new Unrivaled 3-on-3 league allows her to knock "all the dust off" while staying stateside to compete during the WNBA's offseason.
With 43 games to go before Tuesday’s faceoff, the Rangers were four points out of a playoff spot with one game in hand-- and will have to have to leapfrog six teams to secure that second wild-card invitation.
Former Washington State coach Nick Rolovich has lost a lawsuit against the school that he filed after he was fired in 2021 over his refusal to comply with the state's COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
Rex Ryan interviewed Tuesday in West Palm Beach, Fla., for the Jets head coaching job. A little more than 10 years ago, the Jets announced his firing via Twitter.
