Two big wins for the Raiders in consecutive weeks and some “regret” from ownership about a previous coaching decision could help Antonio Pierce’s case to be named the permanent head coach in Las Vegas.
Pierce, 45, has gone 4-3 since owner Mark Davis fired former head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler following a dismal start to the season.
The ex-Giants linebacker, who led the club to an upset win over the Chiefs on Christmas, was given the gig on an interim basis and the success he’s had seemingly has given Davis enough pause to consider giving the ex-NFL linebacker the job full-time.
Some of it though, as Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated reports, could be partially due to second thoughts over a coaching change Davis made in the past.
Davis still has “some lingering regret” over the decision not to give former Raiders special teams coach Rich Bisaccia another year as head coach after being given the interim tag in 2021, Breer reported.
Following the firing of Jon Gruden, Bisaccia helped guide the Raiders to a 7-5 record and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016, but Vegas opted to hire McDaniels for the full-time role after the season.
Now, it appears that Davis might be feeling a bit of déjà vu.
Pierce said his track record with the club should speak for itself.
“My resume is on the grass. What do you want? 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,” Pierce told reporters during his Tuesday press conference when asked how he’d make his case for the job full-time.
“I said this maybe last week, the worst day I was going to be as a head coach was my first day. And each day is my job and I really take pride in growing each and every day to get better. No different than when I was a player to get better. … 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.”
The Pierce-led Raiders crushed the Chargers on “Monday Night Football” in Week 15 and then beat Kansas City in consecutive weeks, still technically remaining in the playoff hunt.
Their postseason odds are slim (1.2 percent, per NFL.com), but they have two more games left on the calendar that could be looked at as the final auditions for Pierce to show why he should remain in the head coaching role.
Pierce has been described as someone who has done a strong job motivating his players while understanding a locker room after spending nine years as a player in the NFL, notably winning a Super Bowl with the Giants.
Former Big Blue teammate Michael Strahan sang Pierce’s praises during the Fox NFL broadcast on Monday and later posted on X that there is “no doubt [in] my mind” that Pierce should be the Raiders’ permanent head coach.