Christmas in the world of sports comes with highly anticipated matchups in the NFL, NBA, and other sports; Dec. 25 this year may be a day Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce remembers as a career-defining moment. Pierce and the Raiders traveled into Arrowhead and defeated the rival Kansas City Chiefs in a defensively dominant performance 20-14.
The result? Virtually everyone who’s paid attention to Pierce’s success as the team’s interim coach is adamantly calling for Raiders owner Mark Davis to offer him the full-time job. And while fans are pleading with Davis to remove the “interim” tag from Pierce’s role, some of the loudest voices have been from former players and even the coach’s old teammates from his playing days.
Former New York Giants, including current FOX analyst Michael Strahan, analyst and ex-cornerback Ryan Clark and another of Pierce’s old teammates in pass-rusher Justin Tuck, were quick to sound off and show the Raiders coach love.
Antonio Pierce should be the permanent Head Coach for the #Raiders. No doubt it my mind, he has earned it. @NFLonFOX
— Michael Strahan (@michaelstrahan) December 25, 2023
pic.twitter.com/Dm2PPnx001
@Raiders you have found your coach!!! @AntonioPierce
— Justin Tuck (@JustinTuck) December 25, 2023
Merry Christmas
One of the best teammates in the world… now showing he’s one of the best leaders of men. Do the right thing Mark Davis. @AntonioPierce should be the @Raiders next head coach!!
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) December 25, 2023
Keep going Tat! pic.twitter.com/k7YjdH11wy
Clark’s plea above to Davis to “do the right thing” seems to be close to how much Raider Nation currently feels about Pierce.
Former linebacker Will Compton, who played in 11 games with the Raiders, also expressed his desire to see Pierce named as the full-time head coach.
IT WAS ALWAYS THE RAIDERS ML‼️
— Will Compton (@_willcompton) December 25, 2023
Antonio Pierce has earned the opportunity to be the next Head Coach of the Las Vegas Raiders & I hope he gets the job
This team has been fun to watch since the change ☠️☠️☠️ pic.twitter.com/2PmfPlWcSS
Even former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and current broadcaster Tony Romo bluntly stated that he thinks Pierce should be the team’s head coach.
"I think he should be the head coach next year." - Tony Romo on Antonio Pierce pic.twitter.com/FDnxRmvCoT
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 25, 2023
