The Las Vegas Raiders were one of 25 teams to begin their offseason program on Monday, but they had one distinction the other 24 did not have: the Raiders were the only team from that group with a new full-time head coach.
The reason the Raiders didn’t qualify for the earlier start is because of a little-known NFL rule that states if a new full-time head coach was the interim coach for more than two games in the previous season, the team cannot begin its offseason program early the following year.
Despite the fact that they got the later start, some Raiders have already been in the building for weeks, according to Tashan Reed of The Athletic, which is a great sign.
The Raiders posted some videos from the first day and one of them was head coach Antonio Pierce addressing the players. You can check out his speech below.
One motto: Get better pic.twitter.com/6JHJvqomp9
— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) April 15, 2024
“First of all, I appreciate everybody being here. Totally voluntary, I get it. But Maxx, we’re always talking about it. We wanna be great,” Pierce said. “Gotta show up everyday. There’s a standard. There’s expectations and then there’s the Raider Way. Get better. D-line, get better. Wide receiver corps., get better. QBs, get better. Specialists, get better. AP, get better. Patrick, get better.
“There’s a reason I brought Marvin Lewis in, former head coach. Joe Philbin, former head coach. Why? Get better, AP. The passion has to show up. If you don’t love this [expletive], shame on you. If you don’t love this, shame on you. Shame on you, man. We’re fortunate to be in these seats, I’ve written my spot. We’re earning the right to keep going each and every day. So show that passion and love for the game and for being a Raider. We’re on the same page? Let’s be [expletive] great today. Appreciate you. Let’s go.”
While it remains to be seen how Pierce’s tenure as the head coach of the Raiders will pan out, there’s no question he’ll have no issue motivating his players.
