Former New York Giants linebacker and Super Bowl champion, Antonio Pierce, has been named interim head coach for the Las Vegas Raiders.
The announcement comes in the aftermath of general manager Dave Ziegler and head coach Josh McDaniels being fired on Tuesday.
“The Las Vegas Raiders have named Antonio Pierce as the interim head coach,” the team announced in a statement.
“Pierce is in his second season as linebackers coach the Las Vegas Raiders, has seven years of coaching experience, and nine years of NFL playing experience. Before joining the Raiders, Pierce spent five seasons at Arizona State serving as linebackers coach before adding the titles of associate head coach and defensive coordinator.”
Almost fittingly, Pierce will make his NFL head coaching debut against his former mates on Sunday in Las Vegas.
Great decision. A real leader and the smartest player I ever played with. He Will be successful. https://t.co/dOnxUxcZjD
— OSI (@OsiUmenyiora) November 1, 2023
The 45-year-old Pierce was originally signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free-agent rookie out of Arizona in 2001. After four seasons in D.C., Pierce signed with the Giants in 2005 and remained with Big Blue until his retirement in 2010.
During his time with the Giants, Pierce was named a team captain and carved out a nice place in franchise history. He was a catalyst in the team’s Super Bowl run in 2007, which was capped off by the largest upset in NFL history — a 17-14 victory over Tom Brady and the then-undefeated New England Patriots.
Pierce was named to the Pro Bowl in 2006 as a member of the Giants and recorded 691 career tackles and nine career sacks.
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