Just like Patrick Mahomes is apparently keeping tabs on coaching changes in the Chiefs’ division, fans of the star quarterback are keeping a watchful eye on his social media activity.
Shortly after news broke Tuesday that the Raiders parted ways with Antonio Pierce after one bleak season, Mahomes reacted to the AFC West shakeup on Instagram, where he appeared to “like” an ESPN post about Pierce’s dismissal, as captured in screensH๏τs now immortalized on the internet.
Formerly the Raiders’ linebackers coach, Pierce was named the team’s interim head coach midway through the 2023 season after the franchise fired Josh McDaniels.
As the interim coach, Pierce guided the Raiders to a 5-4 record, which included a Christmas Day win over the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in December 2023.
Weeks after the 20-14 win — a contest that ultimately fueled the Chiefs’ Super Bowl 2024 run — Pierce spoke about how the team looked to the past to take down the present champs.
“We’ve got the Jordan rules and what I’m calling, from now on as long as I’m here, the Patrick Mahomes rules,” Pierce said on a February 2024 installment of Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby’s “The Rush” podcast, as covered by ESPN.
“So, you remember when Jordan was going through it with the Pistons, all those guys in the ’80s; before he became Michael Jordan, Air Jordan, the Pistons used to whup his ᴀss. Any time he came to the hole? Elbows, feeling him, love taps. We touched him. We’re in the head, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, I’m touching you. So, I showed those guys Jordan getting his ᴀss whupped.”
The Raiders, who opened the year at 2-2, were on the losing end of the Mahomes rules this season as the Chiefs swept their division rivals in the October and November meetings.
Prior to Las Vegas’ Black Friday clash against Kansas City, Pierce declared his then-2-9 club as the “worst team in football.”
The Raiders finished the year at 4-13, losing in the season finale at home against the Chargers, 34-20.
Pierce’s fate was decided two days after the game.
“We appreciate Antonio’s leadership, first as an interim head coach and this past season as the head coach,” the Raiders said in a statement Tuesday.
Raiders minority owner Tom Brady is expected to have a say in the direction the team takes as it searches for a new head coach.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, are chasing their third straight Super Bowl win and will enjoy a week off before hosting a divisional round clash.
