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Las Vegas Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce has become a popular head coaching candidate as he’s landed interviews with both the Tennessee Titans and Atlanta Falcons. However, he may not actually be available for very long.
Pierce was seen at a January 15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade in Las Vegas where he was sporting a Raiders jacket next to interim general manager Champ Kelly and Hall of Fame defensive line Richard Seymour, who is part of owner Mark Davis’ search committee.
The fact that Pierce is still repping the Raiders while interviewing for other jobs means that he must feel confident about where he’s coaching next season. He also did an interview where he made some eye-opening comments.
“It’s a dream,” Pierce said of getting the job in a January 15 interview with KNTV. “I don’t want to pinch myself just yet until it becomes official and we put a stamp on this bad boy, but I’m very humbled and honored.”
As he said, nothing is official yet but it’s really starting to sound like he’ll be named the head coach soon. However, the Raiders have yet to satisfy the Rooney Rule by interviewing two external diverse candidates. Once they do that, they’ll be free to hire Pierce if that’s the decision.
Antonio Pierce & Champ Kelly Have Their Interviews
While Antonio Pierce being at the parade in Raiders gear is catching the most attention, it’s also notable that interim general manager Champ Kelly was standing right next to him wearing Raiders gear. That’s a good sign that Pierce and Kelly could be a packaged deal.
According to a January 15 X post from The Athletic’s Vic Tafur, Pierce officially had his interview with the team following the parade.
Pierce wasn’t the only one to get an interview. Kelly had a second interview for the general manager job the same day as Pierce, per The Athletic’s Tashan Reed.
Nothing appears to be set in stone yet but there’s a lot of smoke surrounding the idea of Kelly and Pierce getting hired in the near future. The Raiders have already satisfied the Rooney Rule for the general manager opening so that news could drop at any moment.
Ed Dodds Still Being Considered
It’s looking more and more that Antonio Pierce will be the Raiders’ head coach next season, especially in light of star defensive end Maxx Crosby hinting he would request a trade if the team went in a different direction. However, Champ Kelly may not be a sure thing as general manager.
Indianapolis Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds is still in the mix, per a January 15 X post from Tashan Reed.
Dodds got his start with the Raiders as a pro personnel intern in 2003. He spent four years with the team and his worked way up. He’s consistently been one of the top general manager candidates for years but has been picky with his next job.
The Raiders like Kelly a lot but Dodds could be one of the next great general managers. It’ll be a tough decision for owner Mark Davis to make and it remains to be seen if Dodds would want the job.
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