Maxx Crosby threatens to leave the Raiders if Antonio Pierce doesn’t become HC

Antonio Pierce has a record of 5-4 as the Raiders' head coach.

Maxx Crosby threatens to leave the Raiders if Antonio Pierce doesn’t become HC

Maxx Crosby (L - via Sports Illustrated) and Antonio Pierce (R - via ESPN)

The Las Vegas Raiders went through a difficult season this year. They started their campaign with Josh McDaniels as their head coach and ended their regular season with Antonio Pierce at the helm. Under their interim head coach, the Raiders had a strong finish to the season. Although they failed to make the playoffs, they ended their campaign on a positive note with Pierce.

The former Raiders’ LB coach has got a lot of support from his players and his staff alike. Fans, too, have been behind Pierce since he took over from McDaniels. One player who has shown his support to his current HC is the Raiders’ star DE Maxx Crosby. He endorsed the hiring of Pierce as the team’s full-time head coach going forward.

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There are a lot of candidates for Las Vegas’ head coaching job. However, according to NFL media, Crosby is expected to explore the trade market if the Raiders decide to hire anyone other than Pierce as the team’s head coach. The Raiders have their eyes on the Michigan Wolverines HC Jim Harbaugh, who led his team to an NCAA Championship this season.

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It’s obvious what Crosby wants the organization to know. They will need to keep Pierce on staff for the upcoming season and possibly beyond if they hope to hang onto their All-Pro defensive end. The Raiders finished their season with a record of 8-9, but Pierce led the team to a 5-4 record in his nine games as the team’s HC.

Antonio Pierce is the ‘leading candidate’ to become the next Raiders HC amid players support

The Las Vegas Raiders ended their season with 5 wins in their last nine games, thanks to a change in environment within the team, brought by interim HC Antonio Pierce. The team’s former linebackers coach came in to replace the departing Josh McDaniels and breathed new life into the organization. As a result of that, he has received a lot of support from his players.

Antonio Pierce
Antonio Pierce (via Bleacher Report)

According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, Pierce is the “leading candidate” to win the Raiders’ head coaching job. A source told Schefter:

I would be blown away if Antonio weren’t the pick.

Adam Schefter was told

The ESPN report also stated that Pierce has “the support of key players there,” but other candidates will still be considered. Pierce himself is one of the candidates for other teams’ head coaching jobs, especially the Tennessee Titans, who stunningly fired their head coach Mike Vrabel after the regular season.

From 2001 to 2009, Pierce was an NFL linebacker; in the latter years, he won a Super Bowl championship with the Giants. From 2014 to 2017, he served as the head coach of Long Beach Poly High School in California. He then became a defensive assistant on Herm Edwards‘ Arizona State staff.

After being linked to recruiting violations in an NCAA investigation, he resigned from Arizona State in 2022 and later that year became the linebackers coach for the Raiders.

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