Tom Brady famously experienced little coaching tumult during his legendary career, playing for just three coaches at his two career stops with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Bill Belichick, Bruce Arians, and Todd Bowles).
Now, as a minority owner of the Las Vegas Raiders, Brady is going to be tasked with helping the team find a new head coach after the franchise dismissed Antonio Pierce after just one full season at the helm.
Tom Brady Must Help Overcome Raiders’ Coaching Woes
Pierce was handed the top job after Josh McDaniels was fired following a 3-5 start to the 2023 season. In total, Pierce went 9-17 in parts of two seasons with the Raiders.
Now, ownership will assign Brady and others the task of finding a permanent solution for the coaching staff’s most important job.
Raiders limited owner Tom Brady is expected to be part of a collaborative committee to interview head coaching candidates and support team owner Mark Davis, per league sources. pic.twitter.com/0xyl0kAYv3
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 7, 2025
The Raiders have had a rough go of things in recent years when it comes to head coaches.
Pierce looked like the right guy for the job after leading the team to a 5-4 record to close out the 2023 season, but the franchise fell apart in 2024, finishing last in the AFC West with a 4-13 record.
On defense, the Raiders struggled to create pressure without bringing additional help (25th in non-blitzing pressure rate, a figure that was bottom-10 before Maxx Crosby was injured), fueling the fourth-lowest turnover rate in the league.
According to Defense+ — a metric created by PFN that combines statistics such as yards per play, points per drive, sack percentage, turnover percentage, and more — the Raiders were the 21st-best defense in 2024, after a 15th-place finish in 2023.
On offense, Vegas failed to clear 20 points in seven of eight games following their bye week this season, a continuation of a downward trending unit that finished the season ranking 31st in EPA per play.
According to Offense+ — a metric created by PFN that combines statistics such as yards per play, points per drive, turnover percentage, success rate against the run and pass, third-down conversion rate, and more — Las Vegas’ offense has been declining for three consecutive years:
- 2022 Ranking: 14th
- 2023 Ranking: 21st
- 2024 Ranking: 29th
Of course, before Pierce, the Raiders dealt with a disastrous tenure under McDaniels, which followed the ugly dismissal of Jon Gruden (Rich Bisaccia filled an interim gap between them for 12 games in 2021).
The team simply hasn’t had competent leadership since Jack Del Rio piloted the franchise to a 25-23 record from 2015-17.
Those are the circumstances the Raiders are dealing with as they set out on their latest coaching search. Unless Brady can use his luminary status to persuade a coach to join forces with him in Las Vegas, the team may find it difficult to lock down its preferred candidate this offseason.