LAS VEGAS – Antonio Pierce was officially relieved of his duties as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders on Tuesday, closing a one-and-a-half season era defined by shortcomings and dysfunction.
The Raiders elected to let Pierce go just a day after making him face the media in Monday’s season-ending press conference. The Raiders reluctance to make an immediate move on Monday sparked a reasonable amount of speculation that Pierce could return as the head coach in 2025, but that reality was put to rest with the team’s announcement on Tuesday afternoon.
Pierce ends his Raiders tenure with a 9-17 overall record, having went 4-13 in 2024 after going 5-4 in his interim tenure with the team in 2023. Pierce’s firing means the Raiders will be in the market for their fourth head coach since moving to Las Vegas in 2020, the most in the NFL during that span.
The Las Vegas Raiders organization released the following statement regarding Pierce’s departure:
“The Las Vegas Raiders have relieved Antonio Pierce of his duties as head coach. 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 in the future.”
Various names have been floated as a potential replacement in the hours following Pierce’s departure. The most prominent being former USC and Seattle Seahawks head man Pete Carroll, who stepped down as head coach of the Seahawks in January 2023.
Former Titans coach Mike Vrabel has also been brought up as a possible replacement given his connection to Raiders co-owner Tom Brady, but Vrabel is also expected to be the lead candidate for the job in New England where he and Brady established themselves as franchise greats.