Pierce Wants to Build Consistent Winner With Raiders

Coach Antonio Pierce has taken over as the full-time head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders.

After a 5-4 stint as the interim coach, Pierce earned the respect of his players, inspiring them to play winning football down the stretch.

While they came up short of the postseason, the culture Pierce built should encourage Raider Nation about the future.

Now, Pierce wants to see his team grow into a consistent winner. The Raiders have not had back-to-back winning seasons since 2001 and 2002, and have only had two winning seasons in the last decade.

Pierce spoke with defensive end Maxx Crosby about turning the Raiders into a consistent winner on the latest episode of his podcast, "The Rush with Maxx Crosby."

“We have to win the division first; we have to knock off the team in red,” Pierce said, referring to the Kansas City Chiefs. “They’ve been dominating for seven years. We have to knock off the head of the snake. 15. We have to do that first. Then we get to the playoffs, with our style of play and their effort, their energy; I think Maxx will tell you this: end of the season, they could have kept playing. We weren’t done in Week 17.

“We looked around like: ‘That’s it? What do we do next?’ We were just hanging out in the hallway like: ‘Guess we have to go home, they’re telling us to go home.’ These guys still wanted to go. It was about how we prepared, I think, throughout the week. Keeping them fresh, not having long meetings, listening to the players.”

Pierce then explained what he felt separated him as a coach from other coaches in the league.

“I think Maxx will tell you: I listen. I’m a great listener," Pierce said. "I’ve gotten better at that. I sucked when I was younger. When I was his age, I was the worst.”

Pierce spoke about the week Crosby was doubtful to play against the Chiefs, but still ended up on the field. He said it was his job to "protect you [Crosby] from you" regarding limiting him on the field in that game if he were to aggravate the injury.

“My job is to protect him and put a winning product on the field each and every day, and come up with a plan to do that consistently. It’s not one year; I’m not trying to be Milli Vanilli. I’m not a one-hit wonder. We’re not one-hit wonders around here.”

To watch the full episode with Pierce and Crosby, click here.

From February 27 to March 4, 2024, the NFL Scouting Combine will be held at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.

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

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