The Atlanta Falcons interviewed former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Antonio Pierce for their opening in the same role, the team announced Friday.
Pierce joins a list of candidates that includes former head coaches Mike McDaniel, who spent the past four seasons with the Miami Dolphins, and Kevin Stefanski, who spent the past six seasons with the Cleveland Browns. The Falcons have also interviewed current defensive coordinators Aden Durde (Seattle Seahawks), Jeff Hafley (Green Bay Packers), Jesse Minter (Los Angeles Chargers) and Anthony Weaver (Dolphins). The Falcons also interviewed Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.
Pierce stepped into a studio analyst role at CBS after a three-year stint with the Raiders. He first joined Las Vegas as a linebackers coach during the 2022 season and served as the interim coach after Josh McDaniels was fired in November 2023. After leading the team to a 5-4 record, the Raiders removed his interim label and kept him on as head coach. Pierce was not brought back after the Raiders went 4-13 in 2024.
Pierce was the fourth interviewed candidate the Falcons announced this week, following McDaniel and John Harbaugh on Monday as well as Hafley and Minter on Thursday.
Harbaugh was head coach of the Baltimore Ravens the past 18 seasons. The New York Giants are working on an agreement to make him the team’s next head coach, three people with knowledge of the decision said Thursday, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal hadn’t been finalized.
Hours after closing the regular season on Jan. 3 with a home win against the New Orleans Saints to post an 8-9 record for the second year in a row, the Falcons fired second-year coach Raheem Morris and fifth-year general manager Terry Fontenot.
Atlanta hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2017 season, a year after just the second Super Bowl appearance in the history of the franchise, which debuted in 1966. This season was the eighth in a row with a losing record for the Falcons.
Matt Ryan, who was the team’s starting quarterback from 2008-21, was hired last weekend by the Falcons for their newly created executive position of president of football. He is leading the search process for the next head coach and GM.