Richard Sherman rips Raiders for poorly handling Antonio Pierce's tenure amid hot seat rumors: "They set him up for failure"
Several NFL teams will be on the lookout for new coaches in the offseason, and there are rumors that the Las Vegas Raiders will be among them.
They are 2-10 in coach Antonio Pierce's first full season in charge, so the Raiders could look to move on after only a year. Seattle Seahawks icon Richard Sherman wasn't too pleased about the report, though.
On his podcast, he voiced his frustration and said that the Raiders did little to put Pierce in a position to succeed:
"They set him up for failure, and if you fire him, it's such BS, because you didn't give him a good enough team to do anything more than what they're doing. They had Davante for a little while. They traded him away. You let Josh Jacobs go. And so you knew that this wasn't going to be an attractive job last offseason."
Sherman accused the Raiders of intentionally sabotaging the season and using Pierce as a scapegoat before they reset in 2025:
"So did you just give it to Antonio Pierce so that he could bite the bullet this season, just to fire him until it was a more attractive position when you have a high draft pick? You set the man up for failure. Expected him to fail, fired him for failing with no chance. If they do that, I'd be so pissed off, because that's total BS."
Mike Vrabel to Raiders? Ex-Titans HC frontrunner to replace Antonio Pierce
The Raiders have reportedly already decided who Pierce's replacement would be. On the Las Vegas Raiders Insider podcast, Sports Illustrated's Hondo Carpenter said that the team would hire Mike Vrabel if they start afresh in 2025:
"If they move on from Antonio, I believe Mike Vrabel will be the next head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders."
Vrabel's excellent track record with the Tennessee Titans aside, his relationship with Tom Brady gives credence to these reports. The duo won three Super Bowls together with the New England Patriots.
Brady, the Raiders' minority owner, is expected to have a massive influence on the franchise's future plans. It's looking increasingly likely that the Raiders will move on from Pierce, but it remains to be seen whether Vrabel is interested in leading a full rebuild or hold out for a better offer.