The Las Vegas Raiders have their head coach, taking the interim tag off of Antonio Pierce and making him the leading man in Sin City heading into 2024 and beyond. This was a long-awaited and key first step for Las Vegas as it looks to rebound next season after an 8-9 campaign that ended on a positive note under Pierce, albeit missing the postseason.
With Pierce now solidified, how the coach builds up his staff comes into focus. After all, last season was filled with plenty of interim coaches in the aftermath of Josh McDaniels' firing. Now that he has total control, it'll be fascinating to see the image of how he molds the staff. As NFL Media notes, one coach expected to be with the Raiders in some capacity is Marvin Lewis. Pierce brought in Lewis to help him after he was named interim head coach, and now Lewis is expected to be on staff in a more formal capacity going forward.
Lewis, who coached Pierce when he was playing in Washington, last held an NFL job, in title, back in 2018 when he was still the head coach of the Cincinnati Bengals. Since then, he was at Arizona State as a special advisor and co-defensive coordinator in 2020 before helping Pierce this past season in Las Vegas.
While Lewis may be coming aboard in a more official capacity, the offensive side of the ball is likely going to look a lot different in 2024. NFL Media reports that most of the offensive coaching staff will not be retained, which includes interim offensive coordinator Bo Hardegree. The Raiders offense largely struggled last season, no matter if it was under McDaniels or Pierce. The unit averaged 289.5 yards per game (27th in the league) and 19.5 points per game (23rd) throughout the season. The Raiders were also tied for 24th in the league on third down (35.6% conversion rate) and 24th in red zone efficiency (48.9% touchdown rate). Arguably the lowest moment for the offense came in a 3-0 shutout loss to the Vikings at home in Week 14, which came directly after the bye.
With those struggles in mind, it's not surprising to see Pierce looking to rebuild that side of his staff.
