‘He’s doing a great job’

The Las Vegas Raiders started out hot after Antonio Pierce took over as interim head coach, dispatching his former team, the New York Giants, in Week 9 followed by the New York Jets in Week 10.

The Raiders have gone 0-2 since then, falling to the Miami Dolphins and Kansas City Chiefs in back-to-back weeks.

But Las Vegas was competitive in each game, losing to Miami by a touchdown and nipping at Kansas City’s heels until late in the fourth quarter.

What the future holds for Pierce is unknown but his former teammate, Giants legend Eli Manning, is impressed with the job he’s done thus far and believes he has the chops to succeed as an NFL head coach.

“He was definitely a great leader; he was a captain of our team,” Manning told Giants Wire. “He was kind of the coach on the field on the defensive side — changing blitzes, audibling, and knowing what was going on.

“I knew he had a high football IQ (by) just talking to him over the years. I’m excited for him and this opportunity. He’s obviously been around coaching and been doing it at all levels, and he’s taken advantage of this situation and he’s doing a great job.”

Together as captains, Pierce and Manning led the Giants to a Super Bowl XLII victory over the New England Patriots, arguably the greatest upset of all time. But they’ve gone in different directions since retirement, with Pierce staying committed to the game of football while Manning carves out his place in the media world.

It would be interesting if Pierce joined the ManningCast at some point this year so we could just listen to the two of them talk X’s and O’s.

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