Legendary NFL Writer Talks Pierce, Rooney Rule

Las Vegas Raiders Interim Coach Antonio Pierce has done a terrific job since taking over for Coach Josh McDaniels, who was fired in October after a loss to the Detroit Lions.

The Raiders are 4-3 since Pierce took over, coming off of a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in which they scored a franchise-record 63 points and a win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium for the first time since the 2020 season.

Because of this impressive turnaround, Pierce has presented a strong case for himself to be hired as the full-time head coach of the Silver and Black.

The Raiders, like every team in the NFL, must adhere to the Rooney Rule when going through the coach-hiring process. The Rooney Rule states that teams must interview at least two external minority candidates for their head coaching position.

Whether or not the Raiders would be violating the Rooney Rule by not interviewing external minority candidates, legendary NFL writer Rick Gosselin believes the Raiders should hire Pierce and Interim General Manager Champ Kelly permanently right now and deal with the potential ramifications of not adhering to the rule if that time comes.

Gosselin joined our Hondo S. Carpenter Sr. on his podcast, saying that if Pierce and Kelly are owner Mark Davis’ preferred candidates, he should hire them now.

“If these are your guys, you hire them now,” Gosselin said. “If you’re prepared to go forward with these guys, why wait? Give Champ a jump on the draft. You don’t want Champ in a holding pen or Antonio in a holding pen while you figure out what their future is. If these are the guys, you hire them. They’re both African Americans, they’re both minorities. I don’t think anybody would stand in the way of either hire. Both these guys, from what we’ve seen, they appear to have earned the chance to hold onto these jobs on a permanent basis.”

Legendary Raiders owner Al Davis set a precedent in 1989 when he fired Mike Shanahan and made Art Shell the first minority head coach of the modern era.

Gosselin believes Mark Davis would be following in his father’s footsteps by promoting Pierce and Kelly.

“Al had the open mind and the keen football sense to know that Art was the guy, and they had great success early on with Art as head coach,” he said. “There’s a precedent in this building, in this league for this, and it was paved the way by Mark’s dad.”

The Raiders have two games left in the 2023 season, two more opportunities for Pierce to establish his case to be the permanent head coach.

The Silver and Black continue the season on New Year's Eve versus the Indianapolis Colts in Indianapolis. Don't miss it on Sunday, December 31, at 1 p.m. EST/10 a.m. PST.

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