Kaley Schmidt

Antonio Pierce: “I fully realize how fortunate I am to have this opportunity. This isn’t something too many people would’ve predicted. I’m an African-American. I came from an urban environment. I was undrafted. Too small. Too short and everything else. Then I was told I was gonna s**t the bed as an interim head coach. I was told the odds were against me to get the job. I was told I couldn’t be a leader of men. But now, you know what? Here we are. And, believe me, it’s only going to get bigger and better from here. At the end of the day, I want to be on that Mount Rushmore of coaches who’ve done it with the Raiders and led this organization to the promised land. I want to be holding that Lombardi Trophy with one hand and a cigar in the other. And you know what? Now that I think about it, that reminds me, to all the people out there who want to look down on us, or take shots at us, because we light up our cigars after wins, or listen to our music too loud, or play hoops in the locker room, or whatever else it is people want to ding us for … let me just say this once and for all: We are the Raiders, damnit. We don’t need to be liked. But we will be respected.”