Like Chargers coach Jim Harbaugh, Raiders coach Antonio Pierce won’t be taking a job at the college level any time soon.
The NCAA, which previously imposed a four-year “show cause” order on Harbaugh, has doubled that as to Pierce.
For eight years, any NCAA program that hires Pierce will have to show cause as to why it should not be sanctioned. That punishment operates as a practical suspension of Pierce.
The announcement from the NCAA contends that Pierce “violated the principles of ethical conduct” while working for Arizona State.
“The majority of the violations in this case stemmed from a scheme in which Pierce, other members of the football staff and a booster arranged unofficial visits to the school for roughly one year during the COVID-19 dead period,” the announcement explains. “During those visits, which occurred over 15 weekends, staff members had impermissible recruiting contacts — including tryouts, football facility tours and entertainment — with 35 prospects and their families.”
The NCAA concluded that Pierce “arranged for or personally provided free meals, apparel, airfare and/or lodging for 27 prospects,” and that "[s]everal members of the coaching staff indicated during their interviews with enforcement staff that Pierce ‘ran the show’ within the Arizona State football program, and they feared that not complying with Pierce’s directives would result in losing their jobs.”
The NCAA also found that Pierce failed to cooperate with the investigation, and that he “consistently denied planning or arranging any portion of the visits, providing recruiting inducements, or participating in the out-of-state contacts and evaluations.”
Pierce spent four years at Arizona State, working for Herm Edwards. Pierce was hired by the Raiders as linebackers coach in 2022. He became interim head coach last season, before getting the full-time job after the season.
