Report: Former Arizona State assistant Antonio Pierce to be permanent Raiders head coach

Antonio Pierce is finalizing a deal to be the permanent head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders months after taking over as interim and less than two years after he resigned as lead assistant for the Arizona State Sun Devils amid recruiting allegations, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

The Raiders and Tennessee Titans interviewed Pierce for their head coaching jobs.

Pierce’s notoriety in Arizona first came as linebacker for the Arizona Wildcats in 1999-2000.

He began his coaching career at Long Beach Poly High School from 2014-17 before entering the college coaching ranks under the tenure of former Arizona State Sun Devils head football coach Herm Edwards. While working for the program, he rose from linebackers coach to co-defensive coordinator, recruiting coordinator and associate head coach at ASU.

What would eventually come were a number of recruiting violations linked to Pierce before his resignation prior to the 2022 season.

Yahoo! Sports’ Pete Thamel reported in detail that Pierce allegedly led the charge in pushing the boundaries of allowing recruits to visit the university’s campus during the COVID-19 dead period and pushed for other coaches to do the same.

That also included an allegation of then-starting-quarterback Jayden Daniels’ mom, Regina Jackson, reportedly helping to arrange and pay for recruits and their airfare.

Pierce would eventually resign in February 2022.

He joined the Raiders as linebackers coach in 2022 under head coach Josh McDaniels, who was fired midseason, leading to Pierce’s interim tenure.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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