It is that 100% commitment to being himself, not allowing anyone to change him that won over the Raider Nation, and more importantly, his locker room. Pierce has been underrated his entire career, and every person that has underestimated him has failed.
The most important player in football is the quarterback. Of that, there is no debate. It is the topic of every franchise every year—from those who are settled like the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes to those who are still wondering and have nothing like the Washington Commanders.
With all of the fans wondering and guessing, Antonio Pierce did something that most coaches don’t do. It is what makes him who he is. He didn’t side-step the discussion about the most important position of the quarterback; he took it on, just like he did running backs at the point of attack as a feared linebacker in his prime. On the Pivot Podcast, Pierce was his usual blunt self and spoke surprisingly openly about the Raider’s quest to find the answer at QB.
“The wildcard is the quarterback. What are we going to do? Well, we got to put a plan together. There’s quarterbacks, there’s ways to get. Everybody has a price; there’s always a price. There’s always something that people are willing, like woo. ‘You’re giving me that, for this?’ You can create a little doubt there, a little like, hmm, interest. As far as if they want to make that move.”
Pierce pontificated to other options for the Silver and Black. “What if it is not the (NFL) draft? Well, gotta go through free agency?” He then addressed the elephant in the room. It is only an elephant because so many have written off Aidan O’Connell after an impressive rookie campaign.
Pierce said, “Let’s go worst case scenario. Which is off what you are going off of. We’re are with Aidan O’Connell. Won five games. What happens if we give this kid a whole offseason like we are giving the head coach an opportunity to grow and learn? Because he played his ass off the last five games. He played better than a lot of guys that got drafted around one, two, and three. For the most part.”
Pierce loves O’Connell. That doesn’t mean he won’t look everywhere to see if he can upgrade but don’t dismiss the former Boilermaker star; his head coach is a fan. Pierce is a lot of things, but he isn’t fake. If O’Connell weren’t a viable option for the Silver and Black, he would not have said what he did. Love or hate Pierce, what you see is what you get. For fans looking for hardcore Raider truth, you only need to listen to what the Silver and Black General says.
Not everyone in the building might like it, but he doesn’t care. He will keep this job if he wins. Not by being fake. Want to know about the Raiders quarterback situation? He just told you. I can confirm that as of Monday Night, the Raiders have made no decision yet on what they are going to do. If that changes, Pierce will make it very clear. Mark Davis is the owner, Tom Telesco is the General Manager, but Antonio Pierce is the coach, and of the three, he is the one Raider Nation relates to. To quote Proximo to Maximus in the movie Gladiator, “Win the crowd, “and Pierce has done that.
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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