Pierce Calls Himself the 'Guardian' of Raiders' Culture

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce feels responsible for protecting his team's culture.

The "Raider Way" is a mentality that Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce wants from all his players.

It's a special culture that represents a hard-nosed, gritty, earn-your-opportunities mindset that not every player has in them. In order to keep that precious culture in tact, Pierce has to make sure that every person he adds to his club embodies that mentality.

"I'm the guardian at the gate," Pierce said at the NFL Owners' Meetings on Monday. "Not letting any evil come through that building, not happening.

"Becuase that's important, man. Like, what we were able to do at the end of the season, what we're doing right now -- I know you guys are not in the building -- it looks different. It looks different, I can tell you that.

"The players are protective of it. They want to know what coach you're bringing in, if you're bringing in someone from ops or media or wherever. We're checking badges, we're checking resumes, we're checking how you are. That's important to us.

"I said it probably several times now: Being a Raider is different. Being a Raider as me as the head coach is going to be really different. And we want that fit to be perfect.

"Is there going to be some ups and downs? Yeah. Are we going to have some disagreements? Yeah. But if we can't sit at this table and talk it out, then that's a problem, and I made a poor judgement when I brought them in the building."

The Raiders showed signs of a team that can compete for a division title in the nine games Pierce served as interim head coach last season. Now it's up to him and his team to carry that momentum over into the 2024 season.

You can watch Pierce's entire press conference from Monday here.

The NFL Draft will be held in Detroit, Mich., on April 25-27, 2024. The Las Vegas Raiders currently have the No. 13 overall pick.

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