Silver Minings: Antonio Pierce, Champ Kelly spotted with interview panel member Richard Seymour

Could it mean something?

Over the weekend, The Athletic’s Tashan Reed reported who Mark Davis has on the interview panel for the Las Vegas Raiders opening at head coach and general manager. Per Reed’s source, the panel includes president Sandra Douglass Morgan, board member Larry Delsen, SVP Tom Delaney, advisor Ken Herock and former player Richard Seymour.

Seymour’s inclusion became more significant on Monday as he was seen with Antonio Pierce and Champ Kelly, the interim head coach and general manager and candidates for the full-time jobs, at the Martin Luther King Jr. parade in Las Vegas via the picture below posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Could this mean something regarding the search to fill the Raiders’ vacancies? Maybe, maybe not, but it is interesting that the team would have one of the interviewers represent the organization with two of the perceived top candidates for their respective roles. Also, The Athletic’s Tashan Reed reported that the Raiders brought Kelly back for a follow-up interview on Monday.

Pierce was also interviewed—by the media, not the Raiders—during the parade where he discussed racial equality and expressed gratitude toward Al Davis for being a pioneer in the NFL and helping to lay the groundwork to create opportunities for black head coaches. In Pierce’s response, he said; “It’s a dream. I don’t want to pinch myself yet until it becomes official and we put a stamp on this bad boy.”

So, it certainly sounds like Pierce is confident he’ll be pacing the Silver and Black’s sideline next season. But, of course, we’ll have to sit and wait until anything becomes official as the team is expected to hold more interviews this week.

In other Raiders’ links:

• Kelly crushes Panthers’ interview: “Yesterday, Vincent Bonsignore of the Las Vegas Review-Journal noted that Kelly’s chat with the Panthers took place on Thursday, and that it ‘went well.’ Taking it a step further, ESPN senior NFL reporter Jeremy Fowler tweeted on Saturday morning that the interview ‘went overtime,’ via Panthers Wire.
• Kliff Kingsbury the next offensive coordinator?: A source told Colin Cowherd that the former Arizona Cardinals head coach would be a “strong candidate” to be the offensive coordinator if Pierce is hired.
• Seymour proving valuable in Raiders’ searches: “Seymour’s voice, I’m told, has been a valuable one for the group,” Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer wrote, “which still has a ways to go with Saturday’s interview of interim GM Champ Kelly wrapping up the first round of GM interviews and the coach search ongoing.”
• The waiting game: “If Las Vegas does leave no stone unturned in the head coach and GM searches, then we may be waiting a while for hires,” writes Silver and Black Pride’s Ray Aspuria.