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In the wake of the Raiders’ decision to fire coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler after their 3-5 start to the season, the team made Antonio Pierce their interim head coach,.
Pierce, a former undrafted player who started with Washington in 2001, had a long and successful playing career, participating in 124 games for both Washington and the Giants and winning a Super Bowl in 2007. He even earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2006.
During his opening press conference with the Raiders, Pierce seemed to be hitting the right notes until he delivered a quote that raised quite a few eyebrows on social media.
He first began with an inspiring statement, “I had opportunities to leave and go to other organizations. I decided not to — the short story is I grew up in Compton, California. I was born a Raider… I was born this way.”
However, he followed up with a line that left many football fans laughing: “I’m a former player. I touch former players…. They’re going to feel me. I need to feel them.”
"They're going to feel me. I need to feel them." – #Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce, on the players.
— Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) November 1, 2023
While it’s clear that Pierce didn’t intend anything by what he said other than that he’s a “Players type coach”, the quote came across funny to most on social media.
Hopefully it’s just a bump on the road for Pierce and he has a lot of success going forward this season.