5 perfect coaching replacements for Arthur Smith

3. Antonio Pierce, Interim Head Coach, Las Vegas Raiders

There is a very good chance the Raiders keep Antonio Pierce on as their permanent head coach. And, in all honesty, they should. He might not be your prototypical head coach in today's NFL, especially not coming with an offensive mind. But, there is something to be said about how Pierce was able to get his guys playing hard.

The locker room in Las Vegas is fully behind Pierce. They love playing for him. He's a true player's coach and does what he can to inspire his guys and show them he believes in them 100 percent. Vegas ended the season winning three of four games, despite inconsistent play from a rookie quarterback. Pierce's defense turned a corner once he took over, too.

If he was let go in Vegas for whatever reason, he'd be a hot name. I would trust him to run the defense while also bringing in the best-possible offensive staff while then going out and finding the team's next franchise quarterback.

This is probably the least likely of all five candidates to be hired in Atlanta, but he would be an excellent hire. He'd be someone players would buy into from Day 1.