Raiders interim head coach Antonio Pierce has established himself as a legitimate candidate to take over the full-time gig following the 2023 season. Of course, that won’t stop Mark Davis and co. from eyeing other options. As Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal passes along, a “name to keep an eye on” in the sweepstakes is former Stanford head coach David Shaw.
Shaw spent more than a decade running Stanford’s program, earning three conference titles and five bowl victories. He was fired following two-straight 3-9 campaigns, and he’s spent the past year out of football entirely.
Shaw actually spent time with the Raiders early on in his coaching career, serving as the team’s offensive quality control coach and later the quarterbacks coach. He spent four seasons with the Ravens before getting recruited by Jim Harbaugh to be the receivers coach at the University of San Diego. He followed Harbaugh to Stanford, serving as the offensive coordinator before getting promoted to head coach when Harbaugh left for the 49ers.
This isn’t the first time the coach has been connected to head coaching gigs. Shaw was a candidate for the Broncos head coaching job last offseason before the organization traded for Sean Payton.
Depending on how the Raiders finish the season, Shaw might not even have a shot at the job. Vic Tafur of The Athletic writes that a 6-3 record for Pierce “would get him the full-time job.” Following last weekend’s loss to the Chiefs, the Raiders are now 2-2 under the interim head coach, meaning they’ll need to go 4-1 the rest of the way to reach that record. Of course, Pierce could also earn the job without the strong finish; as Tafur writes, Davis “loves” how the players have responded to their new head coach.
This cover photo makes it look like David Shaw is not that interested in the Raiders
Maybe he can come be the OC under Pierce?
Pierce needs to keep the job. Bring in a well regarded offensive mind to come up with something more inspiring on offense as the OC. Draft/sign to build up the offensive line, front 7 and a lock down cornerback. This team isn’t too far off if we stop deciding to completely tear everything apart every couple of seasons.
It would be the second time in a row that an interim candidate made a strong case only to get rejected…but Pierce probably has a stronger case than Bisaccia did, for age reasons if nothing else. Thing is, if Pierce ultimately turns out to be a short lived success, Davis would probably have to fire him after a short tenure, which would look even worse. I don’t know how Davis sees it, but it appears to me that he would have more invested in making sure his next hire is qualified for the job. Is Shaw? I don’t know, but if that’s Davis’ perception, he may go for that.
Let’s not let Carolina make us forget how iffy this Raiders opening is, though. Shaw would have to want it to even be a viable candidate. Pierce has one extremely important-perhaps the most important-quality: he seems to want the job. Will anybody want it the same way, or more?
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Mark Davis hasn’t learned this, it would appear. Once again, he has an interim head coach that the players seem to like, and has had some success. Let him build it.
Chasing a college head coach -that didn’t finish his run very well, mind you- is foolishness.
Shaw’s time at Stanford ended poorly, but then again, it was when the NIL/transfer portal eras were just beginning, and it’s hard to say how well prepared Shaw or the admin at Stanford were for them. Mike Elko was a genius to leave Duke (similar program) when he did. Shaw could be an excellent OC or HC in the NFL, his final couple of years at Stanford notwithstanding.
They are going to mess it up like they did with Rich B a couple of years ago. If the players listen and trust Pierce he should get a shot. If they finish strong he is the guy.
would be cool to see him with the raiders
The Raiders have a very easy schedule in front of them – thus it will provide Antonio Pierce with the perfect opportunity to step into the job or prove he isn’t up to it.
Yes, Marc Davis, hire another coach with a losing record, regardless of college or pros and make another mistake dooming the Raiders….”fired after 2 consecutive 3-9 losing seasons at Stanford” kind of says it all doesn’t it…..what did he have an epiphany in the year he’s been out of football that should vault him into contention…..you know whats dumbing down the NFL….its coaches like this that are a huge reach, get a fat contract and then get fired after 2-3 seasons of mediocrity…….stay with Pierce and see what he can do…
His career record is 96-54 which would actually be a .640 winning percentage. Math can be hard for some I get it.
Good one SN. You taking a meaningless shot at a guy simply trying to make his point in the comments section really shows off your intelligence. Everyone is impressed clown.
He’s 10-23 in conference over the past 4 years. Maybe explain why he would appeal to an NFL team. I’d go with Harbaugh ahead of Pierce, but I can certainly see some of Pierce’s appeal?
But a coach who resigned from a mid-level college?
He wasn’t fired. He resigned. Not sure how much you follow the college game but he had a stellar career up until those two 3-9 seasons but that’s when the NIL kicked in and Stanford isn’t/wasnt ready. That not a Shaw thing. The NIL hs hurt many
If the Raiders were honest to themselves; they would trade Crosby, Adams, and anyone else of value and start from scratch. Get a young new HC, give him and the new GM a bunch of picks, spend 2 years on the rebuild while getting Gruden and McDaniels contracts off the books.
I would hire a Parcells/Ron Wolf HoF’er that continually built great teams as a consultant to help oversee a real rebuild.
Antonio Pierce has established himself as a legitimate candidate to take over the full-time gig following the 2023 season.
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Absolutely no.
Don’t get me wrong, I like the job Pierce has done. But anyone replacing McDaniels was going to look good. I hope we aren’t going to make the mistake of overrating home wins against the NYG and NYJ as evidence of a turn-around. A 6-11 record is still a real possibility.
We need Harbaugh or (puking) Belichek.
If you can’t land a big name , say harbaugh .. then I don’t see why not (keeping Pierce) .. The lions, Texans, Titans are (or have been) winning games with a motivator at head coach .. get him some quality co-ordinators and let him cook