NFL Rumors: Raiders risking catastrophe with current handling of Antonio Pierce

What was looking like a disastrous season for the Las Vegas Raiders finished with a little flurry, thanks to interim head coach Antonio Pierce. The former linebacker took over as the Raiders head coach after they fired Josh McDaniels and led the team to a 5-4 record in his nine games, including a pair of huge wins. Pierce led the team to a 63-point performance against the Chargers and even defeated the Chiefs at Arrowhead on Christmas Day.

Pierce not only won games on the field, he won over the hearts of the players in that locker room including stars like Maxx Crosby and Davante Adams. Crosby in particular has bought into Pierce to the point where the star defensive end could look to demand a trade if Pierce is not brought back by owner Mark Davis.

It feels like a no-brainer for the Raiders to bring Pierce back, but as of now, nothing has happened to make Raiders fans believe that Davis will make the right choice. NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported early on Sunday that the Falcons have requested permission to interview Pierce for their head coaching gig. This comes a day after Pierce interviewed for the Titans job.

The Raiders, while they still could bring Pierce back, have not conducted any known head coaching interviews to this point according to Garafolo.

Raiders could make major blunder by letting Antonio Pierce coach another team

The Raiders not conducting any known head coaching interviews could be a good thing as they might not have found anyone better than the interim head coach, but it's definitely not great that they're letting Pierce interview elsewhere.

The Raiders already made the mistake of letting Rich Bisaccia walk away after he had led them to an unlikely playoff berth as Jon Gruden's replacement. They could do the exact same thing with Pierce, letting him go and hiring a more proven head coach in the process. This time, by letting Pierce go, the Raiders wouldn't only be risking alienating an already-alienated fanbase, but they'd be risking receiving potential trade demands from two (or maybe more) of ther team's stars.

Hopefully, for the sake of Raider Nation, Davis will come to his senses and shed the interim tag, making Pierce their permanent head coach. If he does not do this, dark times could be ahead for a Raiders franchise that has made mistake after mistake in recent years.