With Pierce out, Raiders need to get it right in selecting a head coach

HENDERSON, Nev. — Well, the Raiders finally did it.

It took about 72 hours of uncertainty before they decided not to retain Antonio Pierce as their head coach. It was probably the right decision. Why it took nearly three days to make it is a bit of a head-scratcher. But that’s the Raiders for you.

Now that one uncertainty is over, another is about to begin, that being who replaces Pierce as the next coach of the Silver and Black.

You’ll hear several familiar names bandied about over the coming days and a few that will raise an eyebrow or two. You’ll hear about Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson or former Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who is friends with Tom Brady, who will be taking an active role in helping Mark Davis select the next coach. Then there’ll be crazy stuff like bringing back Jon Gruden for a third tour of duty or luring Mike McCarthy from Dallas.

One thing I know: if you’re serious about competing in the AFC West, you better hire someone who is good enough to win battles against Andy Reid in Kansas City, Jim Harbaugh with the Chargers and Sean Payton in Denver. If we learned anything about Pierce’s tenure in Vegas it was he was overmatched when it came to going up against those guys, though he did beat the Chiefs last year while the Raiders’ interim head coach.

But there’s someone out there who may be able to hang with those guys and win games.

Pete Carroll has a proven track record of success and has a Super Bowl ring from 2014. In his 14 years coaching the Seattle Seahawks, Carroll had a .606 winning percentage (137-89-1) and went to the playoffs 10 times.

Yes, he was out of pro football this year after he and the Seahawks divorced following the 2023 season. Yes, he’s 73 years old and he’ll be 74 come Sept. 15. But he’s a young 73 if there is such a thing. He’s still around the game, having served as a consultant to Lincoln Riley at USC this past year while teaching a class there. I would imagine he is plenty motivated to show folks he can still coach at the highest level.

His enthusiasm would rub off on a frustrated and disgruntled fan base which has seen little success from the Raiders since Mark Davis took over for his late father Al in 2011. This will be the 10th head coach Mark Davis will hire during his tenure as owner and the fifth since the team moved from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020. He needs to get it right at some point, doesn’t he?

If you do hire Carroll, you need to bring in a bright, young assistant for Carroll to mentor and groom to eventually replace him. He may be a young 73 but he’s not going to beat Father Time. So looking at this from a “Big Picture” perspective is important. You’re going to ask him to help change the culture and  that can’t be a short-term project. The Raiders have been one of the most unstable franchises in the NFL when it comes to coaches and general managers so current GM Tom Telecsco better make sure the guy who gets hired will work with him closely and help define what the Raiders truly want to be in order to have long-term success.

And don’t be fooled into thinking Telesco won’t have a role in all this. The fact he wasn’t let go along with Pierce Tuesday should be an indication that Davis values his opinion and trusts his football acumen.

I have no idea if Brady likes or respects Pete Carroll. He did go up against him when he was with the Patriots as their QB and Carroll was in Seattle. But if Vrabel is Brady’s target and he can get him, all of this is moot. However, if Vrabel opts for another job like the Patriots, there’s got to be a Plan B.

And as talented as Johnson appears to be given his success with Detroit, he’s never been a head coach in the NFL. Besides, would he take this job where the quarterback situation is such a mess? He chose to remain with the Lions last year rather than be the head coach of Washington, which drafted Jayden Daniels, who had a terrific rookie season and helped guide the Commanders to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

So these next couple of weeks figures to be interesting over at the Intermountain Health Performance Center. Davis will lean on Brady and Telesco and others to try and get this hire right. Let’s see if this time he does figure it out.  At some point, the revolving door needs to stop.