Antonio Pierce could not care any less about where the Las Vegas Raiders stand in the draft order.
On Sunday, the Raiders broke a 10-game losing streak by defeating the Jacksonville Jaguars, shaking up the NFL Draft considerably.
Prior to the game, the Raiders had a chance to earn the first overall pick due to holding the strength of schedule tiebreaker over the New York Giants. With their win over the Jaguars, the Raiders are now out of the top five entirely.
Naturally, the football world reacted to the Raiders winning much differently than normal. Fans were furious seeing the Raiders’ tanking efforts unravel before them, while analysts were curious about what the team does with their path to a franchise quarterback becoming much murkier.
Pierce, however, made his stance clear on the matter during his postgame press conference.
”Talk to (Raiders general manager) Tom Telesco,” said Pierce when asked to address fans upset by the victory.
“Talk to Tom Telesco.”
Raiders coach Antonio Pierce responds to talk of potentially losing out on the no.1 overall pick after beating the Jaguars.
????: By @Sean_Zittel, Vegas Sports Today#RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/YLCGKZvaG0
— Vegas Sports Today (@VegasSportsTD) December 23, 2024
While it’s unclear what exactly Pierce meant by directly namedropping Telesco, it is not unsurprising to see the Raiders head coach speak out against tanking.
With Pierce’s status for next season still up in the air with the Raiders at 3-12, there is no incentive for him to roll over for opposing teams. In Pierce’s eyes, there is no point in focusing on players who he might not even coach next season.
From a certain angle, it can be debated whether a rift has formed between Pierce and Telesco due to how the Raiders’ season has gone. It is important to remember that Pierce was a holdover before Telesco was hired, and the results indicate that the general manager did not necessarily put his head coach in the best position to succeed with this roster.
Whatever the case may be, Pierce made it clear this is what to expect from the Raiders going forward. If the fans have an issue with that, they now know where to direct their complaints.
