Sin City Raiders

What we thought was a forgone conclusion a few days ago is taking longer than we thought.

About a week and a half ago, the Las Vegas Raiders ended their 2023 season with a convincing win over the Denver Broncos. It was a win that gave Antonio Pierce a 5-4 record in his time as their interim head coach.

The players want him. The fans, who chanted “Hire AP” at Allegiant Stadium after that win against the Broncos, want him. But all that matters is does Mark Davis, and his soon-to-be-hired general manager want him?

That is the question. First of all, Davis has interviewed several GM candidates including last year’s interim Champ Kelly. Also, Davis has not been alone in his interviews. He has assembled a panel highlighted by Raider legend, and New England Patriot legend, but more importantly, Raider legend Richard Seymour.

With Seymour in the panel, and with Mark’s business relationship with Tom Brady, other coaches have emerged as options. Mike Vrabel and Bill Belichick are the two coaches with the most connections to Seymour and Brady.

Another connection has emerged recently as coaching candidate Jim Harbaugh, who has been linked to the Raiders seemingly every time they are looking for a new coach, hired an agent who also happens to work with Brady.

But it looked like all those Easter eggs would lead to nothing more than just theories.

Over MLK Day weekend, all signs indicated that Pierce would be the official hire. In part, the speculation was fueled by a viral picture taken of Pierce with Seymour at the Las Vegas MLK parade with both men dressed in Raider gear. There was even speculation in the past week that Pierce was ready to hire Kliff Kingsbury as his offensive coordinator.

It was also reported that the Raiders have satisfied the league’s Rooney Rule and that a coaching hire was imminent, but here we are, nearing the end of the week and nothing has been made official.

All we can say for certain is during this process Mark Davis has kept his cards close to the vest, like a card-player in a Vegas casino. And like a card-player in Vegas, for the Raiders sake, let’s hope Mark doesn’t lose this hand.