Puffs of cigar smoke wafted through the Las Vegas Raiders locker room as music bumped following Sunday’s 30-6 victory over the New York Giants. The celebratory mood beckoned to Raiders days of yesteryear, highlighting the change that has washed over the organization following last week’s firing of Josh McDaniels, with former player Antonio Pierce taking charge.
“I told them just go back to our roots. How did we all get here?” Pierce said after his first win as a coach, via the official transcript. “And I said it in (my introductory) press conference, when you were in Pop Warner, you just had to enjoy the love for the game, and I just felt like we’d lost that for a bit. Like I told you back on Thursday, if you were at practice, you would’ve seen it. Friday, same exact thing and just their focus throughout the building. Obviously, there’s videos the guys playing hoops, having fun, just enjoying themselves, but then we went to the grass, it was working, business, and they understand that. But more importantly, they wanted to do it for each other. They just wanted that feeling, that joy that they’re now celebrating, dancing and having a great time in the locker room.”