The first coaching vacancy of 2023–24 has been posted: The Raiders parted ways with Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler late Tuesday night. Here is my initial analysis on the move. Now, let’s talk about candidates.
First, we cannot ignore Antonio Pierce. Raiders owner Mark Davis understood the chaotic optics of this decision to fire McDaniels less than two years into a six-year contract. He would not have done this if Pierce, a longtime NFL player, Super Bowl champion, and coach at all three levels, wasn’t worth a long-term evaluation. Pierce, like Packers special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia—who replaced Jon Gruden as interim coach—may end up being the best option for the Raiders as presently constructed. So, it’s important we don’t get into a list of replacements without understanding that Pierce may actually be The Guy. Similarly, I think Bisaccia deserves another, longer look from Davis. Even though Bisaccia may have been the right person at the right time, going back to the longtime special teams coordinator and learning some of his lessons in humility and crisis management would be a wise use of time.
Player-coaches, I feel, are going to become the standard in the NFL. While there will always be outliers, the first and most difficult job is getting a group of people to buy in. DeMeco Ryans, Dan Campbell and Kevin O’Connell are showing how to expedite that process expertly. Pierce is in that mold.
