NFL insider's Raiders report is bad news for head coach Antonio Pierce

As the Las Vegas Raiders wind down their depressing 2024 season, there is major doubt about the future of head coach Antonio Pierce, who is in his first full season as Las Vegas' lead man.

Pierce was named the interim head coach last season in the wake of the firing of Josh McDaniels, who was a total disaster. Pierce's stint as the interim head coach was no doubt impressive, as he led the Raiders to a 5-4 record thanks to the team showing major improvement on his watch.

But Pierce has not had anywhere near the same success after getting the full-time gig. Not only are the Raiders 3-12, but Pierce and his coaching staff have bungled several decisions throughout the course of the year, which makes him hard to trust moving forward.

In a recent report that provides updates on the statuses of several head coaches around the NFL, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport says that Pierce's future with the Raiders "is in serious doubt."

"Despite the celebratory scene in the locker room following a Week 16 win over the Jaguars, the belief in league circles continues to be that Antonio Pierce's future as the Raiders' head coach is in serious doubt," Rapoport wrote.

This is just the latest report that casts doubt on Pierce's future with the team. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated had a similar report earlier this month.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty certainly that’s being felt on the part of the coaching staff,” Breer said. “They’ve been given no assurances on 2025. There’s a lot of buzz league wide that Antonio Pierce could be one-and-done as a head coach.”

Rapoport adds that no decision has been made yet, which we knew because owner Mark Davis has said he is going to wait until after the season to evaluate things.

“I don’t even want to talk about that right now,” Davis said when asked about Pierce's future recently, according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic. “We’re still playing through the season.”

While Pierce's future appears to be up in the air, general manager Tom Telesco could be safe based on Davis' comments about the team's possible pursuit of a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft.

“You’d have to talk to Tom Telesco,” Davis said when asked if there would be a mandate to draft a quarterback. “And, of course, Tom Brady at some point will have something to say on that.”

Brady is another wild card in this whole situation.

After being approved as a minority owner, Brady is expected to have a voice in the way the Raiders move forward, something Davis admitted. So, if Brady wants to clean house, it's possible both Telesco and Pierce will be gone.

“I want Tom to have a huge voice — no question about it,” Davis said. “It’s part of building the infrastructure of the organization … a football person on that side of it that’s not a coach or a general manager. He’s somebody who can oversee the whole picture. I believe Tom, come time, will be the person who can do that.”

Telesco certainly deserves some blame for the putrid season the Raiders have had, as he was the one who put the roster together and stuck Las Vegas with Gardner Minshew under center.

But the Raiders general manager also had an impressive first draft, with rookies like tight end Brock Bowers and offensive lineman D.J. Glaze and Jackson Powers-Johnson thriving in Year 1.

For now, Telesco is probably safer than Pierce, but we wouldn't rule out Las Vegas completely cleaning house if that's the direction Brady wants to go.

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