Las Vegas Raiders boast a truly historic all-Black leadership group

The Las Vegas Raiders have made history in the front office. According to Essence, Vegas is the first team to boast an all-Black leadership group as their head coach Antonio Pierce, president Sandra Douglass Morgan, and general manager Champ Kelly are all African-American.

When did Pierce, Morgan, and Kelly earn their positions?

The Raiders promoted Pierce to the interim head coaching position following the firing of Josh McDaniels, who had been with the Raiders since 2022. McDaniels led the team to a 3-5 record, and was fired following two consecutive road losses to the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions. In his first game as head coach, Pierce led the Raiders to a 30-6 win over the New York Giants. It was the Raiders' highest point total of the season and just the second time all year the Raiders had scored more than 20 points.

Kelly was named the team's interim general manager on November 1, alongside the promotion of Pierce. Prior to becoming GM, Kelly had served as the assistant GM to Dave Ziegler since February 2, 2022.

The longest-tenured of the group though is Morgan, who has been the Raiders' team president since July 7, 2022. Her hiring made her the first African-American woman to be named an NFL team president. She was also just the third woman and third African-American to hold that title.

Antonio Pierce's history with Raiders

Pierce was born in 1978 in Ontario, California. The Raiders were in Los Angeles for most of Pierce's youth, from 1982 to 1994. Pierce grew up a Raiders fan, and even during his time as a linebacker for the New York Giants and Washington Commanders, he remained loyal to the silver and black.

Earlier this month, former Giants' quarterback David Carr detailed a Pierce story from his time with the Giants.

Carr claimed that, in 2008, the year after the Giants' first Super Bowl championship, his Giants crushed the Raiders. This game did not actually happen that season though. It happened during the 2009 season. Regardless, after a specific play where Carr spiked the football, he went to the sideline, excited to celebrate the victory. Pierce came up to Carr and warned him to "never disrespect that [Raiders] team."

When do the Las Vegas Raiders play next?

The Las Vegas Raiders are 4-5 and play in primetime in Week 10, hosting the New York Jets at Allegiant Stadium for Sunday Night Football. The game is set for an 8:20 p.m. ET start.

Sunday Night Football betting preview: Jets vs. Raiders predictions, odds, player props

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Raiders make history with first all-black leadership group in NFL