After Another Raiders Loss To End 4-13 Season, Sullen Mark Davis Walked Allegiant Stadium Hallway Facing Coaching Decision: What Was Coach Antonio Pierce’s Future?
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Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — It was 4:10 PM Sunday and Mark Davis in blue jeans and white jacket was striding toward the Raiders locker room in the concrete hallway deep inside Allegiant Stadium.
At the time, the playoff-bound Los Angeles Chargers were administering a beatdown on Davis’ Raiders, leading, 34-13, late in the game.
Davis, as friendly an NFL owner as you will find, had no time to talk. His body language said get out of the way. Davis looked sullen, upset and stone-faced.
In the rawest terms, Davis looked pissed.
Five minutes later on the playing field, the Raiders’ sole bright spot, first round draft pick Brock Bowers, caught a meaningless touchdown pass with 25 seconds left in the dismal season.
Final: Chargers 34 Raiders 20
The Raiders won four of 17 games this season.
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At 4:35 PM, Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce was asked by a few media members about his future.
The question was phrased differently each time.
But it elicited the same answer.
“No comment,” Pierce said about his coaching job future with the team he grew up with in Los Angeles. He was politely asked whether he wished he could have had a healthy team and had a “full deck” of players to work with. Pierce said he used the 53 players at his disposal.
The last time the Chargers visited Allegiant Stadium it was Dec. 14, 2023.
Pierce was on the winning end of a ridiculous Raiders’ 63-21 win over these same Chargers.
Now, less than 13 months later, Pierce ended his postgame presser in a rush and quickly left the media room only 20 minutes after Davis was seen walking the stadium hallway.
The dynamic of Raiders ownership is different now.
A former Super Bowl winner named Tom Brady now owns a share of the Raiders.
You get a sense that a change is coming.
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Just three months ago these two teams — the Raiders and Chargers — squared off in the season opener in Inglewood at SoFi Stadium.
After the Chargers beat the Rangers on that opening day, the seasons for these two rivals went in opposite directions.
The Chargers, under their first-year coach, Jim Harbaugh, went on to clinch a playoff spot to compete for a Super Bowl championship. The Chargers enter today’s game with ten wins. They finished 11-6.
Meanwhile, the Raiders, under Pierce, who traded in his interim status for a permanent one a year ago, felt the pain and anguish of losing ten straight games after a two-win, two-loss start. After losing those ten straight games, the Raiders had won two straight against Jacksonville and New Orleans.
Now Pierce is fighting to keep his job after he won five of nine games only a year ago when the Raiders won eight of 17 games.
Davis appointed Pierce as the permanent coach, along with hiring former Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco.
GM Tom Telesco
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Three hours before today’s game the Raiders’ most devoted fans marched on Hacienda Avenue from near Mandalay Bay to the domed stadium on the opposite side of Interstate 15.
The Raiders have placed a high-profile fan on the cover of their game day programs.
Today’s fan on the cover is Wayne Mabry, who has created the “Violator” character.
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The Raiders’ season was a disappointment for Davis and Raider Nation, but the team did take pride in its Impact Playbook,” which outlined the team’s donations in Las Vegas, sustainability efforts at the team-run Allegiant Stadium and diversity hiring practices.
Team President Sandra Douglass Morgan was the first Black woman hired as a team president in the National Football League.
The front office instability has settled down under Douglass Morgan, who is a well-connected local Las Vegas product and lawyer who has served both in the public sector and in private business.
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The Raiders and Chargers traded field goals in the first quarter.
Las Vegas’ placekicker Daniel Carlson booted a 40-yarder, while the Chargers’ Cameron Dicker nailed a 33-yarder about two and a half minutes later.
In the second quarter, Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell connected with Jakobi Meyers on a 25-yard TD pass and Las Vegas took a 10-3 lead.
With 5:28 left in the first half, Dicker booted a 32-yarder and the Raiders led, 10-6. Before the half, Dicker kicked a 49-yarder. Raiders 10 Chargers 9.
Chargers QB Justin Herbert finished the first half with a six-yard TD toss to DJ Clark, with a two-point conversion to Ladd McConkey giving Los Angeles a 17-10 lead at the half. Herbert was superb in his precision passes, throwing for more than 200 yards as the Chargers piled up 257 yards by halftime.
The Chargers have a lot on the line today. If they beat the Raiders, they play at Houston in the NFL playoffs’ next weekend. But if the Chargers lose, it’s a Harbough Bowl repeat in Baltimore against the Ravens.
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After Dicker kicked a 20-yard chip shot, Carlson nailed a field goal from 47 yards and the Chargers went into the final quarter leading, 20-13.
The Chargers polished off the Raiders, 34-20.
The once-proud franchise looked beaten.
