Insider: Experienced Defensive coordinator in the Mix for HC Job Over Antonio Pierce

It’s been a surprising year for the Las Vegas Raiders defense. The group was 26th in the NFL in points allowed last season but has improved to eighth this season.

Defensive coordinator Patrick Graham deserves a lot of credit for the turnaround and will likely be interviewed for head coaching jobs this offseason. He’s received interviews in the past and this is arguably the most impressive job of his career. Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce seems like a lock to keep the job going forward but Graham could make things interesting.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, owner Mark Davis may give Graham consideration for the head coaching job this offseason.

“It’s fair to think defensive coordinator Patrick Graham should be a viable candidate for the job, too,” Breer wrote in a December 26 column. “His defense has allowed just over 15 points per game over the seven that Pierce has been in charge. He’s done it with the team 31st in the NFL in cap space allotted to defensive players. On Monday, his unit more or less single-handedly won the game—scoring twice (first on a Bilal Nichols fumble recovery, then on a Jack Jones pick-six), and holding Patrick Mahomes (235 yards, TD, INT) and Travis Kelce (five catches, 44 yards) in check. So, as a guy who’s interviewed for jobs before, it’d stand to reason that Graham would get a look from Davis.”

Part of the concern with not giving Pierce the job is that the players may not be happy with it. Hiring Graham would give the Raiders a head coach with more NFL experience who is also closely connected with the players. Hiring him would be a logical move for Davis if he has cold feet about giving the head coaching job to somebody who has only been coaching in the NFL since 2022.

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Mark Davis Regrets Not Hiring Rich Bisaccia

The Raiders had a similar situation just a couple of years ago. Former interim head coach Rich Bisaccia led the team to the playoffs but Mark Davis decided to replace him with Josh McDaniels in the offseason.

With Antonio Pierce having a similar effect on the team, Davis may be apprehensive about repeating the same mistakes, per Albert Breer.

“One thing working in the favor of Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce getting the job full-time in a few weeks—the personal experience of owner Mark Davis,” Breer wrote. “Word has circulated over the past couple months that Davis regretted not giving Rich Bisaccia a full shot after the 2021 interim coach got the Raiders to the playoffs, and nearly knocked off the eventual AFC champion Bengals in the wild-card round. Bisaccia steadied a team rocked by the situations surrounding Jon Gruden, Henry Ruggs III and Damon Arnette. And if Davis is seeing similar qualities in Pierce, it’d hardly be surprising to see him remove the interim tag from Pierce’s title.”