3 candidates who could replace Antonio Pierce as Raiders head coach

Any enthusiasm surrounding Antonio Pierce as Las Vegas Raiders head coach has quickly dissipated. He was very impressive in the interim role last year, but has looked completely out of his depth now that he has the full-time job.

Look, a lot of us drank the Pierce Kool-Aid, but in hindsight, hiring him was always a bad idea. Interim head coaches who are promoted have never been successful, and Pierce had only two years of NFL coaching experience prior to this season.

The Raiders are having their worst season since 2014, and Mark Davis can’t ignore it. Pierce will likely be shown the door this offseason, but luckily there are some good candidates out there to take over. We will review which one is the best fit.

Avoid at all costs: Bill Belichick, Jon Gruden and Kliff Kingsbury

All three of these coaches have had varying levels of success, but the Raiders should not go with any of these re-treads. Belichick might be the greatest coach ever, but he’s 72 and the team has already tried the Patriot Way with Josh McDaniels.

Gruden proved he can no longer run an NFL team, so it would be a huge mistake for the Raiders to try again. Kingsbury’s teams are always good to start a season, but fall off in the second half. If someone shows you who they are, believe them.

Honorable Mention: Joe Brady

Buffalo Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady is super interesting. He is clearly a great offensive mind and has already been looked at for head coaching jobs in the past. He’s only 35, though, and it’s hard to imagine the Raiders replacing a coach the players really like with someone that young.

Liam Coen has probably been the fastest rising among head coach candidates. Any experienced playcaller can be successful when they have a stacked offense with an elite quarterback. What really makes a coach impressive is when they can take less talent and still be effective.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have dealt with major injuries to wide receivers Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, who are their two best offensive weapons. Despite that, the team has a top-five scoring offense in the NFL. He also does it with Baker Mayfield at quarterback, who is very good but not close to elite.

Coen also spent several years working under Sean McVay with the Los Angeles Rams. Previous McVay offensive assistants who get head coaching jobs have had great success. Just look at Matt LaFleur, Kevin O’Connell and Zac Taylor. If the Raiders want an offensive-minded head coach to help develop a rookie quarterback, Coen is one of the best options out there.

Mike Vrabel is the obvious choice to be the next Raiders head coach and he is the one I would probably predict to take the job. He is very close to Tom Brady and has proven success as a head coach.

There are some concerns with him. When he hasn’t had a very good offensive coordinator, his teams aren’t nearly as good. That being said, he got the no. 1 seed in the AFC with Ryan Tannehill as its starting quarterback, so he certainly knows what he’s doing.

Vrabel would be a guy who can easily navigate the transition from Pierce and would bring a level of toughness to the team that has been lacking. With a young quarterback on the way, I’d always prefer an offensive-minded head coach, but the Raiders could do far worse than Vrabel.

I almost didn’t include Ben Johnson since I don’t think he would consider the Raiders, but it’s hard to ignore his resume. The Lions offense is a powerhouse. They are no. 1 in scoring and looks to put up huge numbers every week.

Johnson is a very big reason for that. They’ve given him a lot of talent to work with and he hasn’t wasted it. He is a brilliant playcaller and play designer. The only concern with him is that he might be a better coordinator than a head coach, but we won’t really know until he gets a chance.

Giving Johnson an exciting young quarterback like Shedeur Sanders to work with would inject some life into a fan base that has essentially given up on the idea that the Raiders would ever be good again. If the team could convince Johnson to come to Las Vegas, it would be a huge sign that better days are ahead.