The “interim” tag has been removed and former New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is now officially the full-time head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The Raiders made the hiring announcement on Friday.
Pierce took over the interim role after Las Vegas fired Josh McDaniels midway through the season. His coaching debut, ironically, came against the Giants in Week 9. The Raiders were victorious, 30-6.
After starting the season 3-5, Pierce helped turn things around and led the Raiders to a 5-4 finish (8-9 overall). Three of the four losses were by a combined 13 points.
The 45-year-old Pierce was originally signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free-agent rookie out of Arizona in 2001. After four seasons in D.C., Pierce signed with the Giants in 2005 and remained with Big Blue until his retirement in 2010.
During his time with the Giants, Pierce was named a team captain and carved out a nice place in franchise history. He was a catalyst in the team’s Super Bowl run in 2007, which was capped off by the largest upset in NFL history — a 17-14 victory over Tom Brady and the then-undefeated New England Patriots.
Pierce was named to the Pro Bowl in 2006 as a member of the Giants and recorded 691 career tackles and nine career sacks.
