REPORT: Raiders Looking to Ride Momentum of Coach Antonio Pierce's Hiring

The search for the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coaching position was arguably the most talked about open coaching position of the offseason in the National Football League. After going 5-4 down the stretch in the second half of last season, the Raiders decided to hire Antonio Pierce as their permanent head coach.

Yahoo Sports’ Jason Fitz believes the momentum Pierce created at the end of last season is real. The Raiders now must capitalize on it.

“I think that one of the most exciting things you get any time you have a new coach is an opportunity to find out the new personality of an organization,” Fitz said. “So, Antonio Pierce was an interim coach for the Raiders.

“Obviously, he is now the full-time coach for the Raiders. I have no idea what to expect. I didn't expect much when he became the interim coach last year and all of the talk about, you know, the Raider way and all of the things that it seems like cliches.

"But when I talk to guys that are in that locker room, they tell you that it's not that there's a different energy. The guys love being there every single day. Guys want to be around his energy in a world where I think the best coaches are the ones that identify with the city in the franchise.

Fitz believes Pierce and the Raiders have a huge opportunity in front of them.

“Antonio Pierce has a real opportunity to do that,” Fitz said. “Now, there has to be adults in the room, and you're still going to have to be able to strategize [against] other coaches.”

“You're going to have to be a great coach. But from what I've seen so far, what excites me this year is that it's somebody that easily identifies with what it means to be part of this organization and this franchise and sometimes you need somebody that loves it that much to help turn it around.

“I don't know if it'll happen, but I'm excited about it because it feels like there's a different energy in the building than there has been, even from the outside looking in for years. No matter who the coach has been, AP has done that.

As the Raiders prepare to open their season against the Los Angeles Chargers, Yahoo Sports’ Frank Schwab believes the Raiders hired the right person for the job when they decided to keep Coach Pierce.

“This was the right hire,” Schwab said. “Let's see what Antonio Pierce has because, like you said, that franchise, that fan base really got behind him. What's the harm? What's the harm in seeing if he can keep that going?”

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