Getty Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels.
Las Vegas Raiders players and coaches don’t seem too sad about Josh McDaniels no longer being the team’s head coach. Star wide receiver Davante Adams looks the happiest he’s been since joining the team in March 2022. Part of that could be his increase in targets in recent weeks.
Over his last four games under McDaniels, Adams was getting just 7 targets per game. It became a big topic of discussion with the wide receiver expressing frustration with the fact he wasn’t seeing the ball. He has 20 targets in the two games since McDaniels was let go.
Interim head coach Antonio Pierce was asked about getting Adams the ball more and made some interesting comments.
“The first couple plays were right to him,” Pierce said during his November 12 postgame press conference. “Get the ball in his hands, get him going. When you’ve got one of the best receivers in the game, I’m not stupid. I know who to get the ball to.”
This led to many fans speculating that Pierce was calling McDaniels “stupid.”
LMFAOOO AP just called Josh Mcdaniels stupid 😭😭🤣😆😆😆
“Most importantly this implies he thinks McDaniels was stupid and even more importantly he is correct,” another X user wrote.
Pierce may not have meant to take a shot at McDaniels but considering the coach was under fire for not getting the ball to Adams more, it’s easy to see why fans would connect the dots.
Raiders Players Resonating With Antonio Pierce
Whether or not Josh McDaniels deserved to get fired less than two years into his tenure is a moot point. He may be a very smart coach who understands football but the players are clearly having more fun now that he’s gone.
Antonio Pierce doesn’t have the coaching experience that McDaniels has but as a former player, he knows how to push the right buttons to get his players fired up. Through two games, Pierce is getting his team ready to win. Star defensive end Maxx Crosby is already a big fan of the coach.
“I feel like everyone is responding to him really well. A.P. can relate on the player level as well as a coach,” Crosby said in his November 12 postgame media availability, via the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“He has that different type of energy that everyone feeds into. He believes in us, and he believes in the offense. That’s all you can ask for as a coach.”
There are still seven games left to be played so Pierce has a long road ahead of him to keep this team fired up. If he can the rest of the season, he’ll have a good shot at getting the full-time job.
Antonio Pierce Wants Raiders to Have Fun
Antonio Pierce didn’t think he’d be a head coach this season. He was thrust into this role in less-than-ideal circumstances. Despite that, he’s led the team to a 2-0 record so far and he’s having a blast while doing it.
“It’s just fun being around the guys, man. That’s the reason why I got back into coaching,” Pierce said
“When you walk in that locker room and to see everybody smiling, to see the celebration, to see all the hard work that we’ve done over the past several days come to fruition — it’s fun.”
Pierce doesn’t know if he’ll be with the Raiders long term but he’s going to make sure his players are enjoying themselves as long as he’s in charge.
“For however long I’m here as a Raider, as the head coach, we’re going to have a blast,” he said.