The Las Vegas Raiders appear to have decided on a new head coach and general manager.
The Raiders this week interviewed Kris Richard and Leslie Frazier for their vacant head coach job. In doing so, they satisfied the Rooney Rule by interviewing two external minority candidates. Most people believe the interviews were merely a technicality, as it seems Mark Davis has already decided to hire Antonio Pierce.
According to Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the Raiders are expected to soon name Pierce their head coach and Champ Kelly their general manager.
The @Raiders have now satisfied the NFL's guidelines for a coaching search. They can announce a permanent head coach at any time. (Looking more and more like it will be Antonio Pierce with Champ Kelly as the GM)
— Vincent Bonsignore (@VinnyBonsignore) January 17, 2024
The Raiders also satisfied the Rooney Rule by interviewing external GM candidates, but it seems like neither their head coach nor their GM job was ever truly open.
We already saw one major hint this week that Pierce and Kelly are sticking around. Raiders players have also made it clear that they want Pierce to remain head coach, and one of the team’s biggest stars has reportedly threatened to demand a trade if it does not happen.
The Raiders promoted Pierce from linebackers coach to interim head coach after they fired Josh McDaniels midway through the season. Kelly was promoted from assistant general manager to general manager after Dave Ziegler was fired. Las Vegas went 5-4 after making the changes.
