The Las Vegas Raiders have a unique identity than the rest of the NFL teams. It is the first team in the history of the NFL to have all-black leadership. The team has a Black president, Sandra Douglass Morgan; Black head coach, Antonio Pierce; and Black general manager, Champ Kelly.
The unique identity of the Raiders comes after Pierce’s recent promotion to interim coach after previously working as the team’s linebackers coach. Morgan, on the other hand, was named president by team owner and managing general partner Mark Davis in 2022.
“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.”
Prior to her appointment as the third female president and third Black president of an NFL team, Morgan served as the chairwoman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, worked as a city attorney, and also served on the city’s COVID-19 task force.
“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 as assistant general manager in 2022. In the past, he worked with the Chicago Bears as their director of pro scouting and also as their assistant director of player personnel. Before that, he 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.”
