Antonio Pierce led the Las Vegas Raiders to victory in his first game as the team’s interim head coach and will look to make it two in a row Sunday night against the New York Jets.
But prior to his move into coaching, Pierce also had a successful career playing football.
How Long Did Antonio Pierce Play in the NFL?
Pierce was a standout linebacker in college at the University of Arizona, posting 77 tackles, 10 tackles for a loss, two forced fumbles, one interception, and a blocked kick as a senior.
He went undrafted in the 2001 NFL Draft due to his size at just 6-foot-1 and 238 pounds.
Pierce signed with the then-Washington Redskins in 2001 as an undrafted free agent and played a significant role as a rookie before seeing less playing time over the next two seasons. He started all 16 games in 2004 and put up career numbers before joining the New York Giants the following offseason.
MORE: Raiders’ Aidan O’Connell Shares Strong Praise for Antonio Pierce
Pierce continued to establish himself with a solid 2005 season, then earned his first and only Pro Bowl appearance after the most productive season of his career in 2006. That led to Pierce playing all 20 of the Giants’ games in the 2007 season on their way to upsetting the previously unbeaten New England Patriots in Super Bowl 42.
Pierce tied for the team lead with 11 tackles (eight solo) in the Super Bowl victory. He then played two more seasons with New York in 2008 and 2009 before being released and retiring in the 2010 offseason.
Pierce has since worked his way up in the coaching ranks from leading a high school football program to being an assistant coach at Arizona State and then the Raiders before earning the interim lead gig when Josh McDaniels was fired.
Pierce now has a chance to show what he can do as a head coach at the highest level.
From the current NFL standings to team depth charts to coverage of every game in the 18-week NFL schedule, we have all the news from around the league to keep you up to speed!