On your marks, get set, look each other in the eyes with recognition… and go.
The Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers begin their season against each other on Sunday and are in many ways mirror images of each other. Both teams are led by fierce former players as head coaches who preach toughness and accountability, but also try to take it easy at times.
Antonio Pierce had his Raiders players light victory cigars in the locker room last season when he replaced the fired Josh McDaniels. The Raiders went 5-4 under Pierce and won three of their last four games, including a Christmas Day victory at Kansas City. The interim title was vacated in January when owner Mark Davis said The athlete that he never really considered anyone else – including Jim Harbaugh – for the job.
Pierce was “something special,” Davis said.
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Harbaugh, who began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Oakland Raiders, won a national championship at the University of Michigan before taking the head coaching job with the Chargers.
The Raiders and Chargers are trying to establish the same old-school dynamic, but the Raiders have a three-month head start thanks to Pierce’s time as interim coach.
(One of Pierce’s wins was a 63-21 victory over the Chargers that led to the firing of general manager Tom Telesco…which led to Pierce being there at his interview with the Raiders…and Telesco being hired by the Raiders…and him secretly thirsting for revenge this week.)
If you listen to the Raiders and Chargers players, the descriptions of the two coaches are very similar.
“I really like his approach as a coach,” Raiders defensive tackle Christian Wilkins said of Pierce on Wednesday. “He demands a lot from us players to take control. He sets the culture, sets the standard. As a player, he’s a guy you can get behind. He’s the same guy every day and he brings it all every day.”
Chargers edge rusher and former Raiders star Khalil Mack enjoys listening to Harbaugh’s stories and crazy comparisons, but behind it all lies a burning desire to win.
“He’s a different character, man,” Mack told reporters. “He’s a different person in terms of his no-nonsense attitude. He knows the expectations, knows what he expects from each individual. … He’ll tell you if you’re not meeting those expectations.”
The Chargers traded away most of their skill position players on offense, but still have Justin Herbert at quarterback and star players like Mack, Joey Bosa and Derwin James Jr. on defense. And they have Harbaugh.
“Wherever he goes, he wins,” Pierce said Wednesday. “Highest respect for Harbaugh and what he has accomplished in the past, both at the college and professional levels.”
Harbaugh didn’t play any of his starters in the preseason, so Raiders coaches looked at some of the strategies he implemented over a decade ago as coach of the San Francisco 49ers. They also studied the Baltimore Ravens, whom Chargers offensive coordinator Greg Roman coached from 2017-2022.
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“It’s a little difficult this time because we haven’t seen anything on film,” Pierce said. “You can look at a little bit of Michigan, maybe Baltimore, a little bit of Niners stuff. But at the end of the day, we’re going to have to make some adjustments in the game and we’re ready to do that.”
They know that the Chargers, like the Raiders, will rely on running plays on offense.
“That’s smart,” Raiders defensive coordinator Patrick Graham said Thursday. “That’s smart. All winning teams rely on running the ball. If you can’t run the ball, you’re not going to get anywhere in January. … To be tough, you have to be able to run the ball. And he’s done that successfully.”
(Graham mentioned that he was 0-2 against Roman, whose Ravens rushed for 265 and 249 yards in the 2019 and 2020 victories over Graham’s Miami Dolphins and New York Giants teams, respectively. Running backs Gus Edwards and JK Dobbins, both now with the Chargers, combined for 162 yards on 26 carries in the 2020 game.)
Harbaugh’s brother John still coaches the Ravens, but the Raiders won’t win on Sunday because they found a play that Jim picked up from his brother.
If anything, Pierce wants his players to think less.
“We have to bring our hard hats,” Pierce said. “Less is more. Sometimes when you’re doing game call as a coordinator or a head coach, you want to give it your all in Week 1. And let’s be realistic, you’re still in training camp, preseason mode, right? Because there aren’t many reps.
“So, make your players play fast, don’t just sit there and make it a mind game. These gentlemen are the 1 percent of the 1 percent of the world physically. Don’t let them slow down mentally just because you have all these great plans and ideas.”
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Pierce and Harbaugh are two of eight head coaches who are former players, a number that appears to be on the rise again for the simple reason that players want a stronger bond with their coach.
“AP has been in our situation, so he knows what it takes and what is expected,” Raiders cornerback Jack Jones said. “He’s going to let us be who we are and have our own personalities as long as we take care of our business, practice and play hard, and as a player you can’t ask for anything better.”
Both Pierce and Harbaugh know what the players want and need to hear.
“Jim just has this unique sense of what’s good for the team,” Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter told reporters. “But he’s also been in their shoes. They respect the fact that he’s been in their shoes. He respects that they’re going through what he’s been through.”
Both coaches also had some issues with recruiting rule violations at their college stops, Pierce at Arizona State and Harbaugh at Michigan. No one is sugarcoating it or making excuses, but they’re guys who are in it for the money at the end of the day, and neither of them will be satisfied until they’ve won a Super Bowl.
In fact, Harbaugh will never be “satisfied.”
“Satisfied? That’s just a word I would never use in any way in connection with football,” Harbaugh told reporters. “Going forward, that word is just a… I hardly use it anymore… that’s an embarrassing word. That would be one of the five worst football words. …
“Comfortable would be the perfect word for satisfied. That just doesn’t suit me in football. The other words are better. Committed. That’s a great word. Execution. That’s a top five word. Settlement. Those are real football words for me. Satisfied, bottom five.”
Pierce would nod in agreement.
(Top photos of Antonio Pierce and Jim Harbaugh: Chris Unger and Harry How / Getty Images)
