Antonio Pierce issues fiery response to potentially missing out on No. 1 draft pick
12/23/2024 03:20 PM
While the Las Vegas Raiders ended a 10-game losing streak in Week 16 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, many of their supporters were upset with the result. Despite the positive result, fans expressed frustration with head coach Antonio Pierce for the win, which could have cost the team the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Pierce, however, was blunt with his reaction to the notion, which he quickly shrugged off. In his media presser on Monday, the coach candidly stated that he is not coaching “to lose” and gives no thought to the draft discussion.
“We don’t do this to lose,” Pierce told reporters. “We don’t do this for anybody’s fantasy football team or draft projections. None of that s*** matters to us. The only thing that matters is winning, that’s all we want to do.”
The response came seconds after he replied with “no comment” to a direct question about losing the No. 1 overall pick. Pierce gave a similar response immediately after the win when he told reporters to “ask [general manager] Tom Telesco” when he received the same question.
Entering Week 16, the Raiders closely trailed the New York Giants for the No. 1 overall pick in April 2025. However, with their win and the Giants’ subsequent loss, New York became the sole frontrunner for the top selection. The correlating results give the Giants a sizeable 57.5 percent chance to secure the No. 1 pick, per Jordan Raanan.
With two games left in the season, the Raiders are likely to end the year with the No. 2 overall pick. They now share an identical 3-12 record with the Jaguars, New England Patriots, Tennessee Titans and Cleveland Browns.
Antonio Pierce’s connection to the Giants
Pierce’s connection to the Giants only heightened criticism from Raiders fans on social media. Fourteen years before he became the head coach of Las Vegas, Pierce ended his nine-year NFL career with the G-Men.
Pierce spent the final five years of his professional career in East Rutherford after four years with the Washington Commanders, then known as the Redskins. He served as the Giants’ starting middle linebacker in every game he appeared in and was an integral part of the team’s Super Bowl XLII victory in 2008.
Less than four years after his retirement in 2010, Pierce began his coaching career. He started as the head coach of Long Beach Poly High School, where he would remain for four seasons. He then became the linebackers coach at Arizona State before accepting a position with the Raiders in 2022. Pierce would eventually be promoted to head coach in 2024 after spending the previous season as the interim.
The post Antonio Pierce issues fiery response to potentially missing out on No. 1 draft pick appeared first on ClutchPoints.
