‘Couldn’t be more proud’: Raiders praise all-Black leadership team

Long known for their trailblazing ways, the Raiders made history again when they moved on from coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler and replaced them with Antonio Pierce and Champ Kelly.

Pierce and Kelly, promoted to their new positions on an interim basis, join Raiders president Sandra Douglass Morgan as the NFL’s first all-Black team leadership group. Douglass Morgan became the league’s first Black female team president and only the third female president ever when she was hired last year.

Inside the Raiders’ locker room, there is an appreciation for the historical significance of the moment.

“I think a lot of time in life we get called into opportunities, situations, that end up being greater than us,” Raiders running back Ameer Abdullah said. “And I think the three of them have been called to this opportunity. And I couldn’t be more proud to be part of an organization that’s going through such a historical turnover.”

It’s par for the course for the Raiders, who became the first team in modern NFL history to hire a Black head coach when the late Al Davis tabbed Art Shell to lead the team in 1989. The Raiders also hired Tom Flores, who became the first minority NFL coach to win a Super Bowl, and the first female team president in Amy Trask in 1997.

Davis’ son, Mark, has carried on that tradition by hiring Douglass Morgan and by elevating Pierce and Kelly.

The gravity is not lost on Pierce, whose whirlwind transformation from Raiders linebackers coach to head coach two weeks ago left him little time to contemplate the history being made. Only afterward, when he had a chance to take it all in, did it dawn on him what he, Kelly and Douglass Morgan now represent.

“It wasn’t until I saw it on paper and you say, ‘Whoa, wow, that’s different,’” Pierce said. “And then it’s a woman as well. I just think it’s hats off, obviously starting with Mr. Al Davis, and then Mark has carried it on as well.”

While Raiders players appreciate the history being made and the major push forward for diversity and inclusion, there is also hope that the proper focus is put on all three’s capability and hard work.

“It’s dope, no doubt about it, but it also has to be recognized that Champ earned this position. AP earned it. Sandra earned it,” offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said. “It’s not just because of their race. It’s because of the people they are and what they’ve done in their life and how hard they’ve worked to get there.

“I think we should look more at that and the work they’ve put in, instead of that they’re Black and how cool that is. And it is cool. It’s super cool, actually. But I think more attention should be paid to that part of it.”

In the bigger scheme of things, players are counting on this being a step toward making this the norm rather than groundbreaking.

“Hopefully, we get to a point where we don’t even have to acknowledge it,” Raiders wide receiver Davante Adams said. “Not here, but just in the world. It would be cool to just have it be a Black president and it just be the president. Just a normal thing. That’s the ultimate goal.”

The Raiders, who are 2-0 under Pierce, travel to Miami to play the Dolphins this week. At 5-5, they have worked their way into the thick of the AFC playoff chase. Pierce is focused on the job at hand, but he also understands the impact he, Kelly and Douglass Morgan are making.

“That’s why I say I’m humbled and honored by it,” Pierce said. “I don’t take it lightly. There’s not many people from my background who grew up from where I grew up, being in front of this stage, to have this kind of responsibility.”

He is also embracing the idea that he can be an example to others.

“I look at myself as somebody who can be a leader and an example for the other children, wherever they may be in the world,” Pierce said. “Listen, you can do it. If I could, I know you can do it. Guarantee you that. Hopefully, they believe and dream like I did and work their asses off to get there.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.