We often talk about rivalries between teams. For instance, the Raiders vs Chiefs. Or between players such as Maxx Crosby vs Patrick Mahomes. The latter may not happen because of the injury status of Crosby. But there’s a third meeting of old rivalries that will take place Sunday in Vegas — Antonio Pierce vs Andy Reid.
Pierce took over as the Raiders interim head coach three weeks ago and he has the Raiders playing the most inspired football in a while. His fourth game as the man in charge on the Raiders’ sideline, he will see a very familiar face on the opposite sideline.
Reid is in his 25th year as a head coach in the NFL. The first 14 of those years he was the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles. Nine of those seasons, his Eagles faced off against a defense led by Antonio Pierce twice a season. Two of them, they faced off three times. And only one of those nine seasons the Eagles had a losing record.
As for Pierce, he spent his entire nine year career in the NFC East — the first four in Washington and the final five with the Giants in New York.
It wasn’t until his final season in Washington that Pierce became a full time starter and that, of course continued when he joined the Giants, where he would make a Pro Bowl and lead a standout defense to the playoffs four straight years.
Reid remembers facing Pierce, especially during his best years in New York.
“He’s a good communicator, smart, he was a middle linebacker there at the Giants, had a chance to compete against him quite a bit and he ran the show,” Reid said of Pierce. “I figured he’d be probably a good coach if that was the direction he wanted to go.”
Pierce took a somewhat unconventional route to getting his first job, jumping straight from linebackers coach the head coach to replaced the fired Josh McDaniels. But from day one and every say since the moment has not seemed too big for him. But now he is about the face one of the greatest coaches in the history of the NFL. One he knows all too well.
“I think I played Andy Reid over 22-23 times in my career, playoffs included,” said Pierce.
The number was actually 21 times he faced Reid’s Eagles in the regular and postseason combined. And Pierce’s teams went 7-14 in those games.
But success in the NFL is not measured by wins and losses alone. It’s measured by trophies. And while Reid doubled up Pierce in that column — including beating Pierce all three meetings in the playoffs — it was Pierce who would hoist the Lombardi during that time, not Reid.
The stars aligned in 2007 with the Giants sweeping Reid’s Eagles on the way to the playoffs, then going all the way to win it all. Pierce also was named to the Pro Bowl that season. Reid made the Super Bowl once in Philadelphia and lost. He has, of course, won two in recent years as head coach of the Chiefs.