Long gone are the days of NFL dominance from the Raiders. The organization has made just two playoff appearances over the last two decades, and the club has been marred with culture problems in recent years.
When Las Vegas brought in Josh McDaniels from the Patriots two seasons ago, it was with the hope that his championship pedigree as a coach would translate into success for the Raiders. That was far from the truth, as McDaniels underwhelmed as head coach and was eventually fired after Week 8 of this season.
Bringing in a coach with a handful of Super Bowl rings didn't work, so what would? Enter Antonio Pierce.
Raiders owner Mark Davis elected to promote Pierce from linebackers coach to interim head coach following McDaniels' dismissal, and so far, the return has been promising. From his opening press conference to the reception from the players, the vibes have been completely flipped in Las Vegas.
The former NFL linebacker may be early in his coaching career, but he does have a title to his name as a player. Pierce won a Super Bowl with the Giants, knocking off — ironically — McDaniels and the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII to ruin New England's perfect season.
It's something that Pierce hasn't forgotten, and he wanted to use that as fuel for the Raiders earlier in the year. According to Fox Sports' Jay Glazer, Pierce talked about that 2007 Giants team and the mindset they brought day-in and day-out during a team meeting that took place before McDaniels' firing.
MORE: Antonio Pierce coaching timeline, from Long Beach Poly High School to NFL
Everyone was on board with his speech — except for McDaniels.
"(Pierce) brought up the old Giants team that beat the (New England Patriots), Josh McDaniels’ team, in the Super Bowl in the 2007 season," Glazer said. "He said, 'no matter who we played, we thought we could beat them. We had a game plan where we could beat them. We had to believe that and that’s not here.
"'We have to believe that at the Raiders, we can beat anybody.' He finishes up that speech, everyone thinks they’re great except for Josh McDaniels."
It wasn't long after this conversation took place that McDaniels was dismissed from the team, along with offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi and general manager Davie Ziegler. Pierce earned the nod as the top dog, and is bringing the intensity he had on the field as a player to the locker room as interim head coach.
With Pierce at the helm, the Raiders blew out the Giants in his interim head coaching debut last week. Now, the Black and Silver have their eyes on taking out a second New York team tonight when the Raiders host the Jets on "Sunday Night Football."
Where did Antonio Pierce play football?
Pierce grew up playing high school football at Paramount High School in Paramount, Calif. He was not highly-touted coming out of high school, and initially began his collegiate career at Mount San Antonio College, a community college based out of Walnut, Calif.
After two years at Mount San Antonio, he transferred to the University of Arizona. In his one year with the Wildcats, Pierce recorded three sacks, 77 tackles, two forced fumbles, one interception and a blocked kick.
Despite a strong senior year, Pierce was not selected in the 2001 NFL Draft. At 6-1, he was viewed as too small to play linebacker in the NFL. Washington eventually signed him as an undrafted rookie ahead of the 2001 season.
The gamble for Washington paid off. Pierce spent four seasons with the organization, eventually working his way into a full-time starting role by 2004. After a strong final year with Washington, Pierce was signed by the Giants in free agency.
Pierce was named captain of the defense ahead of the 2005 season. He would be the Giants' starting middle linebacker for five seasons, earning his lone Pro Bowl nod in 2006, while helping the team to a Super Bowl in 2007.
Antonio Pierce NFL stats
Washington Redskins
Pierce's first season in the NFL was a solid showing. The linebacker played in all 16 games for Washington, making eight starts for the team.
However, over the next two seasons, Pierce would see inconsistent playing time. He got into just eight games in 2002, and while he made 15 appearances in 2003, he did not receive a single start. It wasn't until the 2004 season that Pierce earned a full-time role, starting in all 16 games for Washington in a middle linebacker role.
| Season | Games | Sacks | Tackles | TFL | Forced Fumbles | Interceptions |
| 2001 | 16 | 1.0 | 53 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 2002 | 8 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2003 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | 16 | 1.0 | 114 | 3 | 1 | 2 |
New York Giants
In 2005, New York brought Pierce in to take over as the team's starting middle linebacker. He was immediately named captain of the defense, anchoring the defense while a young Eli Manning led the offense.
The Giants were a consistent threat in the NFC during Pierce's time with the team. He helped the club make four consecutive playoff appearances from 2005 to 2008, winning the Super Bowl in 2007 when the Giants defeated Tom Brady and the Patriots.
Pierce's best season came in 2006 when he was named to his one and only Pro Bowl. He set a career-high of 139 tackles, and it was his only campaign where he finished with triple digits in solo tackles (109) and double digits in tackles for loss (10).
| Season | Games | Sacks | Tackles | TFL | Forced Fumbles | Interceptions |
| 2005 | 13 | 2.5 | 100 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| 2006 | 16 | 1.0 | 139 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 2007 | 16 | 1.0 | 102 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| 2008 | 15 | 1.5 | 95 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| 2009 | 9 | 1.0 | 55 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
