Should Antonio Pierce have the interim tag removed and become the permanent replacement for Josh McDaniels as the Las Vegas Raiders head coach, he may owe Rich Bisaccia a small debt of gratitude.
The MMQB’s Albert Breer reported Tuesday that Raiders owner Mark Davis “regretted not giving Rich Bisaccia a full shot after the 2021 interim coach got the Raiders to the playoffs, and nearly knocked off the eventual AFC champion Bengals in the wild-card round.”
Only pointing to Bisaccia’s 7-5 record as the Raiders’ interim coach doesn’t do justice to the job he did.
Jon Gruden resigned amid a scandal over racist, anti-gay and misogynistic language he had used in emails over a period of years. Damon Arnette, a first-round pick in 2020, was released in November 2021 following multiple off-field incidents. Henry Ruggs III, another 2020 first-rounder, was arrested in the same month for his role in a fatal car crash.
Through it all, the Raiders made the postseason for the first time since 2016. That wasn’t enough for Bisaccia to stay on, though, with McDaniels hired in January 2022. He quickly landed with the Green Bay Packers to become their special teams coordinator.
Pierce hasn’t faced the same kind of challenges as Bisaccia, but there’s no question he had to clean up a mess left by his predecessor.
Many had written Las Vegas off following a 3-5 that might have even flattered the team. Now, the Raiders are 7-8 and only one game back of the final wild-card spot. Pierce’s impact has been evident, leading to increased calls for him to stay on beyond this season.
Davis told The Athletic’s Tashan Reed his search for a new head coach and general manager will be “wide open,” so he’ll consider plenty of outside candidates. However, it sounds like Pierce may have a leg up on the competition.
