Las Vegas Raiders principal owner Mark Davis spoke with reporters on Wednesday and revealed he won’t make any final decision about the future of head coach Antonio Pierce until the ongoing season concludes.
Davis also touched upon how minority owner and Fox lead NFL in-game analyst Tom Brady will “help us on the football side” as Brady continues to call contests for the network through Super Bowl LIX.
“When Tom was hired (as an analyst), I promised to Fox that we would not get in the way of Tom’s job and that he’s going to be one of the best announcers in the game,” Davis said, as shared by Tashan Reed of The Athletic. “Anything he does with the Raiders will be in the future, as far as that goes. Obviously, I talk to him all of the time and his input is greatly valued and will always be valued. We’ll see as time goes on how his role evolves.”
With the Raiders at 2-11 during Pierce’s first season as the club’s full-time head coach, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on Wednesday that “there is a feeling in some league circles that” Davis could go in a different direction next month.
Specifically, the Raiders have been linked with former Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel. Vrabel is a one-time Associated Press Coach of the Year Award winner who is close with Brady going back to their time playing together with the New England Patriots.
Brady’s deal with Fox, reportedly worth $375M over 10 years, runs through the 2033 season. However, many media insiders and analysts have expressed doubts that he will complete that agreement, considering it’s clear Davis wants the seven-time Super Bowl champion involved in the organization’s search for a long-term franchise quarterback and, possibly, for Pierce’s replacement.
“I want Tom to have a huge voice — no question about it,” Davis added during his comments. “It’s part of building the infrastructure of the organization … a football person on that side of it that’s not a coach or a general manager. He’s somebody who can oversee the whole picture. I believe Tom, come time, will be the person who can do that.”
It’s unknown if Brady would advise Davis to move on from both Pierce and general manager Tom Telesco after Week 18, but it certainly seems like TB12 will be part of such conversations even as he prepares to call postseason games for the first time.
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