NY Giants news: Antonio Pierce to interview for head coach

Could Antonio Pierce return the Giants to a championship culture as a coach?

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

The New York Giants are bringing in Super Bowl champion linebacker, and former Las Vegas Raiders head coach, Antonio Pierce to interview for their vacant head coaching job.

The interview, which was first reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, will take place Thursday night.

Pierce, 47, played five seasons for the Giants and was a key piece of their 2007 Super Bowl defense. While he was never an athletic linebacker, Pierce’s sky-high football IQ allowed him to play much faster than he would time. It also

allowed him to be a “coach on the field” for Steve Spagnuolo’s aggressive and sophisticated defense. He was eventually forced to retire due to a neck injury.

Pierce turned to coaching in 2014, first starting at the high school level before coaching at Arizona State from 2017 to 2022. He was hired by then Raiders head coach Josh McDaniels in 2022 as linebackers coach after resigning from Arizona State. Pierce was promoted to head coach after McDaniels was fired mid-2023. His first game as interim head coach was against the Giants on Nov. 5, 2023, which the Raiders won 30-6. He finished his season as interim head coach with a 5-4 record, which earned him the 2024 season as head coach. Overall, Pierce has a 9-17 (.346 winning percentage) record as a head coach.

It’s tempting to chalk Pierce up as a non-candidate to satisfy the Rooney Rule. However, he does have a pre-existing relationship with ownership and long-time members of the front office, as well as experience in the type of culture to which the Giants would like to return. It’s also possible — perhaps even likely — that the Giants are also looking at Pierce as a candidate for defensive coordinator, a position he held under Herm Edwards at Arizona State.

Former Atlanta Falcons coach Raheem Morris is also interviewing Thursday.