Raiders announce the hiring of Antonio Pierce
It's official: The Raiders announced the hiring of Antonio Pierce as their new head coach Friday.
Pierce went 5-4 as the Raiders' interim head coach in 2023 after they fired Josh McDaniels. He was in his second season as the linebackers coach before getting his chance as a head coach on Oct. 31.
Pierce played in the NFL for nine seasons, won a Super Bowl, was a team captain and once was named to the Pro Bowl.
He began his coaching career at Long Beach Poly High School before going to Arizona State for five seasons. He served as linebackers coach before adding the titles of associate head coach and defensive coordinator. In 2021, Pierce was promoted to defensive coordinator and helped the Sun Devils' defense rank first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (20.8), first in total yards allowed per game (326.3), tied for first in defensive touchdowns (three), second in interceptions (16) and second in sacks (27).
He resigned during an NCAA investigation of a recruiting violation before the 2022 season and joined the Raiders staff.
