Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce’s résumé is ‘on the grass’ as he strives for head job next season
There’s not much else Antonio Pierce can do to prove to the Las Vegas Raiders that he’s worth keeping around next season.
The Raiders’ interim head coach, who was promoted after Josh McDaniels was fired earlier this fall, knows he’s led the team in the right direction — especially after their blowout win over the Los Angeles Chargers and their upset win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday. Everything else is up to team owner Mark Davis.
"I'm going to keep saying it: As long as it looks right, sounds right and smells right, I'm fine with it. Win, lose or draw," Pierce said Tuesday. "And I'm going to be me and [the players] are going to be them. And when this bad boy's over with, hopefully it all works out and we're together for more years to come.
"And hopefully Mark Davis sees improvement and growth within our team. He sees the style and play that he wants from the Raiders. He sees a fan base that's behind us. He sees a building that loves coming to work and loves being here and people that's covering the team, enjoying covering the team. And at the end of the day, we got to win. And right now, my record, our record, is 4-3."
Raiders rolling under Pierce
Davis announced on Halloween that he had fired both McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler. The move came after the team’s 3-5 start to the season, which was just McDaniels’ second leading the Raiders.
Though that didn’t fix everything, the Raiders have had great stretches since Pierce took over. They won back-to-back games in Pierce’s first two outings as the interim head coach, and then they blew out the Chargers in a wild 63-21 win earlier this month.
Then on Monday, the Raiders stunned Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Kansas City for a 20-14 win. It was just the Raiders’ second win at Arrowhead Stadium in the last decade.
The Raiders are 4-3 under Pierce and, at 7-8, still have an outside shot at the postseason.
Now, it’s still unclear if Davis will opt to hire Pierce full time after the season ends. He will have to interview at least two “external” minority candidates for the job, according to NFL rules, so he can’t just make Pierce the head coach right away.
Pierce is also relatively unproven as a coach. He spent four years at the high school level in Long Beach, California, before joining Arizona State for four seasons as a linebackers coach and defensive coordinator. He landed in Las Vegas last season, which marked his first in the league.
Despite that, Pierce is just trying to make the most of his run leading the Raiders. In his eyes, that’s by far the best pitch he can possibly make.
"My resume's on the grass, which I can put up a fancy presentation, I've seen that before," Pierce said. "I can put up stats. I can put up my resume. But the best thing that happened for me was the opportunity. And like I said, maybe last week, the worst day I was going to be as a head coach was my first day. ... I really take pride in growing each and every day to get better. No different than when I was a player — get better, and by the end you look at it, whatever your career was and whatever my coaching career is, that you sit there and say, 'Look, this is what he was.'"
