Why was Antonio Pierce fired after just one season?

After a 34-20 loss to the Chargers to end 2024, the Raiders finished 4-13. This time a year ago, the team was 8-9 to end the 2023 season and had positive momentum. Las Vegas finished the season 3-1 and 3-0 against AFC West opponents. on top of that, they found their new head coach in Antonio Pierce.  

At the beginning of the 2023 season, Pierce was the linebackers coach for the Raiders. The team fired Josh McDaniels mid-season and Pierce was named interim head coach. Players rallied behind Pierce and owner Mark Davis eventually offered him the full-time position. His time in Las Vegas lasted just one season after a 4-13 finish as a head coach. Now, the team will look to hire their fifth coach since the 2021 season.

The Raiders continue to swing and miss on finding the next head coach of their franchise

Another change in Las Vegas: Raiders fired head coach Antonio Pierce, per source.

Raiders now have gone from Jon Gruden, who resigned in 2021, to Josh McDaniels, who was fired in 2023, to firing Pierce in 2025. pic.twitter.com/qoYaOyV4Us

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 7, 2025

with the firing of Antonio Pierce, the Raiders are once again searching for a new head coach. They join the Bears, Patriots, Jets, Jaguars, and Saints who also need new head coaches in 2025. All of the blame cannot be put on Antonio Pierce. However, a 4-13 finish gave owner Mark Davis the easy decision to part ways with Pierce after one season. Injuries at QB played a massive factor for the Raiders in 2024. Three different QBs made at least one start for Las Vegas. That included Aidan O’Connell, Gardner Minshew, and Desmond Ridder.

Las Vegas set themselves up to fail in 2024 with the decisions they made before the season. First off, they came into the preseason without a starter named. Gardner Misnhew eventually won the starting job from Aidan O’Connell but both QBs leave a lot to be desired. On top of that, they hired former Bears OC Luke Getsy to be their new playcaller. Both of those decisions did not help the Raiders whatsoever. In 2024, former Raiders WR was traded to the Jets. He requested a trade after the Raiders Week 4 win vs. the Browns. Players in the organization enjoyed Pierce as the head coach but he ultimately did not have enough success to last another year. Six teams including the Raiders are searching for a new head coach for the 2025 season.