Life as an NFL coach is easier when you’re winning, especially on the rare occasions when you do so without expectations.
Antonio Pierce impressed last season, taking over for Josh McDaniels, who was fired midseason during his second disastrous stint as NFL head coach. Pierce connected with the Las Vegas Raiders players and fans by saying all the right things, showing some chutzpah and winning some games. He went from interim to a legitimate chance to see what he could do with the full-time job. Raiders owner Mark Davis hired him as his permanent head coach in January.
Pierce’s first full season as head coach is only three games old, but there have already been some questionable moments.
Pierce would not back quarterback Gardner Minshew II as his starter after a devastating loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 3. He questioned the players’ commitment after the loss. His comment that some players were making “business decisions” quickly gained traction. During a heated post-loss press conference that leaned heavily on the theme of the Raiders taking a beating, Pierce seemed at a loss as to why some of the things that worked last season aren’t working anymore.
“Same group, for the most part, everybody came back,” Pierce said. “Same technique, same coaches. It’s not a different scheme. We’re going to have to coach it better, be tough on the guys, and coach the guys tough, because we didn’t see that coming on either side of the ball.”
There is still a lot of talk going on. Now it needs to be addressed in depth.
Antonio Pierce has a tougher time in year 2
The Minshew portion of Pierce’s week seemed like a sign of an inexperienced coach.
Minshew played quite well in a Week 2 comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens, a stunning victory that pulled the Raiders out of an 0-3 start. Minshew wasn’t good in Week 3, but no one on the Raiders was, including the coaches. Although Pierce spoke far more about the effort of the defense than about being outplayed by Dave Canales and his Panthers staff.
Minshew was replaced by Aidan O’Connell late in the game, and Pierce did not say Monday that Minshew was still his starter.
“I think we have to talk to the players first and evaluate everything from yesterday,” Pierce said.
On Tuesday, reports said the Raiders were sticking with Minshew. An ESPN.com report cited a source as saying that a quarterback change was “never even considered.” Essentially, Pierce left his quarterback for nothing. Even if Minshew narrowly won the preseason quarterback competition, it’s not right to treat him that way after a loss that was far from his fault.
And then there was the phrase “business decisions” that got a lot of attention.
Pierce’s ‘business decisions’ phrase
The term “business decisions” refers to a player who may not go all out to make a tackle or block, especially late in a blowout. That’s what Pierce thought happened late in the Panthers game.
“I think as the game went on — I don’t think it was the team — I think there were certainly some individuals that made business decisions,” Pierce said after the game. “And we’ll make business decisions going forward.”
A lack of effort is not ideal and should be corrected. But, like Minshew, this is a team that played hard enough to beat the Ravens the week before. There’s more talk about which players may have missed a tackle in a blowout than there is about accountability for a coaching staff that was overwhelmed by a Panthers team that was clearly the worst in the NFL through two weeks. With the comment, Pierce also shined a bright light on his players, and himself, because words like these need to be backed up by action, otherwise they’re meaningless.
The priorities may seem all out of whack. But everything can be a learning experience, even for a head coach. Pierce has coached just 12 games. In the long run, talking about “The Raider Way” and lighting victory cigars will have to be backed up with solid X’s and O’s and preparing your team for a home game against the Panthers. Pierce’s ability to manage a game came under immediate scrutiny in Week 1 when he punted from the Chargers’ 43-yard line on fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter, a move so questionable that even the Chargers were shocked by it. Those are the moments when games are won and lost in a highly competitive league, not endless platitudes about beating the Kansas City Chiefs.
Pierce hasn’t had a great start to the season. He talked a lot in his post-game press conference after Sunday’s loss about getting tougher on the players. The same should apply to him.