Antonio Pierce makes his case to keep Raiders’ coaching job

Aug 26, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; Las Vegas Raiders linebackers coach Antonio Pierce watches from the sidelines against the New England Patriots at Allegiant Stadium. The Raiders defeated the Patriots 23-6. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce has made a strong case to be given the job permanently, and he had a great quote Tuesday about how his resume speaks for itself.

Pierce was asked about his chances of landing the job following a surprising 20-14 Christmas Day win at the Kansas City Chiefs. His response was a simple one, and probably the best argument he has for getting the job.

“My resume is on the grass. What do you want?” Pierce said, via Tyler Dragon of USA Today. “I can put up a fancy presentation, I’ve seen that before. I can put up stats, I can put up my resume, but the best thing that happened for me was an opportunity.

“Hopefully (Raiders owner) 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.”

Considering where the Raiders were when Pierce took charge, 4-3 is quite impressive. There are certainly risks to giving the players more power, but the tactic seems to be working here. Plus, a physical, hard-nosed win over the reigning Super Bowl champions on their turf says something about the team’s level of buy-in with Pierce, especially since that was what he wanted when he took over.

A former NFL linebacker, Pierce had no head coaching experience when he took over after Josh McDaniels was fired. He may leave the Raiders with a lot of reasons to commit to him going forward at this rate.