National Football League

Antonio Pierce makes his case to be Raiders coach: 'My résumé is on the grass'

Published Dec. 27, 2023 12:00 p.m. ET

Antonio Pierce hopes to turn his test run as the Raiders' head coach into a full-time position — and he believes that he's proven himself to be worthy of the job.

Pierce made his case to get the interim tag removed when he spoke with reporters on Tuesday, pointing to the on-field results as to why he thinks he's a deserving candidate.

"My résumé is on the grass. What do you want?" Pierce said. "I can put up a fancy presentation. I've seen that before. I can put up stats. I can put up my résumé. But the best thing that happened for me was an opportunity. I said this 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."

"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've got to win. And right now my record, our record, is 4-3."

Las Vegas got off to a 3-5 start in Josh McDaniels' second year at the helm, costing him his job as there were reports of his growing unpopularity within the organization. Pierce won his first two games after taking over, a blowout over the Giants and a close victory over the Jets. However, Las Vegas went on a three-game skid after the two wins, which culminated in a 3-0 home loss to the Vikings in Week 13.

But Pierce and the Raiders have turned things around over the past couple of weeks. They had a blowout 63-21 win over the Chargers in Week 15 before upsetting the defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium on Christmas Day.

"How many times did it happen in the last 25 years at the Raiders?" Pierce said when asked if Monday's win could help him get the full-time job. "Does anybody know? I don't know the exact number. Less than a handful, right?"

Monday's win marked just the second time that the Raiders have picked up a win at Kansas City since Andy Reid became head coach in 2013, but they've won at Arrowhead 11 times since 1998.

Still, the win over the Chiefs was just the latest sign of growth by the Raiders this season. They improved to 7-8 with the win, keeping their playoff hopes alive, and allowed 20 or fewer points for the sixth time in the seven games that Pierce has been in charge.

FOX Sports' Jay Glazer reported in November that Pierce, who grew up a Raiders fan, had a shot to become the team's next head coach. Per the Rooney Rule, the Raiders still have to go through a search in the offseason, which must include at least a pair of interviews with minority candidates before making a hire.

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But Pierce believes Monday's win shows that his background as an NFL linebacker and linebackers coach should prove he's a strong candidate.

"Most of those guys were [offensive] gurus, not a defensive coach who never did it before, right?" Pierce said. "And did it a certain way, right? Did it our way, right? The Raiders way, right?

"[Davis] will figure that out."