Pierce's Playing Career Influences Coaching Style

Las Vegas Raiders Coach Antonio Pierce spent nine successful seasons as a linebacker in the NFL.

The now-permanent head man of the Silver and Black totaled 691 tackles, 39 tackles for losses, eight forced fumbles, nine sacks and seven interceptions in his career. He was a Pro Bowler in 2006 and won Super Bowl XLII with the New York Giants.

Pierce carries his mentality as a player over to his head coaching style. The culture he has created in Las Vegas has resonated strongly with his players. He wants to win a Super Bowl with the Raiders.

Pierce talked about his playing days on the latest episode of defensive end Maxx Crosby’s podcast, "The Rush with Maxx Crosby."

“We went through the playoffs extremely confident,” Pierce said. “The same way these guys played the last five games of the season defensively is how we won in the playoffs. We shut down pretty much every team we went up against that did a really good job.”

Pierce went on to list some of the teams his Giants beat in those playoffs, including Jon Gruden’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tony Romo’s Dallas Cowboys and Brett Favre’s Minnesota Vikings.

The mindset of his defense led them to success, Pierce said.

“We’re going to be dominant," Pierce said. "I loved Eli [Manning]. I don’t think Eli, in any of those games, threw for 300 yards. It was about our running game and our defense. When you look at the Raiders, it was about our running game and our defense. We’ll throw the rock, don’t get me wrong, we put up 63 points in a game. We could have put up 70. I would have gone for two and we would have put up 71.

“That’s our mindset. They know. I’m not apologizing. We don’t apologize for how we play. Nobody is going to apologize if they whoop our a–. So we press on the gas, and we don’t apologize for anything. We smoke our s— and talk our s—.”

Pierce talked about knowing his players and knowing how to approach them. He spoke about allowing Crosby to take over a huddle at times, applauding how his players can take ownership of the team, which is what he said he did with the Giants.

To watch the entire podcast 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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