Tony Romo, an NFL CBS commentator and former quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, is well-versed in the candidate the Las Vegas Raiders should select to lead the team in 2024.
For the Las Vegas Raiders vs. Kansas City Chiefs Christmas game on Monday, Romo and colleague Jim Nantz were on the call. In a stunning 20-14 victory over the defending champs at Arrowhead, the Raiders were led by defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and interim head coach Antonio Pierce to perfection in their gameplan.
Romo said that Pierce should stay on as the Raiders’ head coach till 2024 after the team defeated Patrick Mahomes and company to win a game that may have ended the season. He said
“I think he should be the head coach next year. I think he’s an outstanding coach. He was a great football player. This is because he knows the game at a very high level. He communicates, and he creates a culture…you’re seeing that pay dividends right now.”
"I think he should be the head coach next year." – Tony Romo on Antonio Pierce pic.twitter.com/FDnxRmvCoT
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) December 25, 2023
Throughout their playing careers, Romo and Pierce interacted on the field multiple times. From 2005 to 2009, Pierce was a superb linebacker for the New York Giants. They went on to surprise everyone by defeating the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42, and they did it by defeating Romo’s Dallas Cowboys in the 2007 NFC Divisional Round.
By inserting McDaniels in lieu of interim head coach Rich Bisaccia, who led the Raiders to the postseason in 2021, Davis committed a grave error. One can only speculate as to whether Davis’ choice to either keep Pierce or let him leave next season will be influenced by that calculation error.