LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Las Vegas Raiders’ quest for a new head coach has moved into the interview stage.
Interim head coach Antonio Pierce telling FOX5 he’s been relying on some knowledge learned from NFL coaching legends while he goes through the process.
Allegiant Stadium’s Super Bowl transformation serves as a reminder – this is where the Raiders want to be. The team not getting the chance this year, and their chances in the coming years could partially hinge on the decisions being made by owner Mark Davis right now.
The first of the head coaching interviews happened on Tuesday. Former Minnesota Vikings head coach and Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Lesli Frazier had an in-person interview, as did former Raider player and NFL assistant Kris Richard. That’s something only allowed because neither is coaching at this time. The league prevents all current coaches from seeking positions outside their organizations until next week.
Those two interviews put the Raiders in compliance with the Rooney Rule, which mandates that two minority candidates from outside the team have in-person interviews.
Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce has laid out his vision and gotten prepared. He’s not just going with his gut instincts, but getting as much valuable information as he can from a pool of resources with many years of NFL coaching experience, like Marvin Lewis and Tom Coughlin. He’s been like a sponge around them since he was a player.
“That process has already started. It started from Day one. To be honest it started when I was 22 or 23 with Marvin and 25 or 26 with coach Coughlin. They both can tell you I sat in their office and picked their brains. But at the end of the day, AP has got to represent AP,” Pierce said.
Even though he has already interviewed with Tennessee via Zoom, and he also expects to interview with Atlanta, it’s the Raiders job Pierce really wants. He told FOX5 he’ll continue to lean on his mentors for that extra bit of knowledge.
“Every young coach, you need that, there’s no reason not to have that. Especially when you have that resource right next to you.”
This will be an evolving process that is likely to take a couple more twists and turns before we have any answers. FOX5′s sports team will stay on top of it, and continue to bring you the latest.
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