The Las Vegas Raiders have a distinct identity from the other NFL teams. It is the first team in NFL history to be led entirely by black people. Sandra Douglass Morgan, the team’s president, is Black, as is Antonio Pierce, the team’s head coach, and Champ Kelly, the team’s general manager.
The Raiders’ distinct identity stems from Pierce’s recent ascension to interim coach after previously serving as the team’s linebackers coach. In 2022, team owner and managing general partner Mark Davis appointed Morgan as president.
“I am thrilled that Sandra has agreed to join the Raiders family,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. “Her experience, integrity and passion for this community will be invaluable to our organization. From the moment I met Sandra, I knew she was a force to be reckoned with. We are extremely lucky to have her at the helm.”
Morgan was the head of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, a municipal attorney, and a member of the city’s COVID-19 task group prior to her nomination as the third female and third Black president of an NFL franchise.
“I’m just really, really lucky to have this opportunity and hopefully open doors for many other women and women of color in leadership roles in sports,” she told ABC News.
Kelly, on the other hand, joined the Raiders in 2022 as an assistant general manager. He formerly served as the Chicago Bears’ director of pro scouting and assistant director of player personnel. He previously spent eight seasons with the Denver Broncos.
Pierce, who previously served as the team’s linebackers coach before being named interim head coach, told the NFL, “I’ve been around these guys for two years now as a linebackers coach. I made my presence known in the linebacker room, defensive line room, quarterback room and the running back room.”
“I’m a former player; I touch football players. I can relate to them. I’ve done the same things they’ve done. I’ve walked the same paths they walked. I felt the same pain they felt. So, there’s nothing or any emotional ride or rollercoaster they’ve gone through this year or the two years I’ve been with them, that I haven’t felt. My personality will come out and reflect on this team.”
