Antonio Pierce fired: NFL insider raises question of Tom Brady's influence in search for replacement

For some reason, the Las Vegas Raiders waited until well after Black Monday to make a firm decision on Antonio Pierce's future with the franchise. After just one full season in charge of the Raiders, the franchise decided they had seen enough to have evidence of the fact that the team was going nowhere under Pierce.

Over a season and a half in charge of the team, Pierce went 9-17 after initially taking over as the interim head coach midway through the 2023 season when Josh McDaniels was shown the door. A 4-13 campaign in 2024 (which included a 10-game losing streak bang in the middle) along with two wins to close out their last three games means the Raiders are also well short of being in the range to draft a franchise quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft.

As soon as news dropped of Pierce being fired, The Athletic's NFL insider Dianna Russini raised a pertinent question regarding a minority owner of the franchise.

"It will be interesting to see how much influence Tom Brady will have in this next Raiders coaching search," Russini tweeted.

In October 2024, the NFL officially voted through Brady's purchase of a 5% stake of the team.

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3 options Tom Brady's Raiders could look at to replace Antonio Pierce

Off top, Mike Vrabel will be the name most strongly linked with the Raiders.

Vrabel clearly has a history with Brady, having won multiple Super Bowls with the Patriots when Brady was out there conquering the world. Interestingly, Vrabel is also the man who essentially called time on Brady's career with the Patriots when his Tennessee Titans beat the New England Patriots in the AFC Wild Card round in a 20-13 win.

A few more experienced names the Raiders and Brady could turn to next season include former Seattle Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll and Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores.

The Raiders could also ask for an interview with Detroit Lions' Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn, two names that have been widely tipped to land a job in the 2025 coaching carousel.

Other names to keep an eye out for include Washington Commanders OC Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian, who has been linked with a move to the NFL, and Kansas City Chiefs OC Matt Nagy.

Former Jets HC Robert Saleh could also be an outside contender provided he finds a good OC for whichever QB lands with the Raiders next season.