Antonio Pierce building case for Raiders' head-coach job - ESPN

HENDERSON, Nev. — Las Vegas Raiders interim coach Antonio Pierce is making his case to get the job full time, especially in the wake of a blowout victory over the Chargers and Sunday's upset of the Chiefs.

«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 [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."

Pierce, promoted from linebackers coach after the Halloween night firings of coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler, has the Raiders playing inspired football, even as the two most recent wins came on the heels of a decidedly uninspired 3-0 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings.

At the time, Davis told ESPN that he was «intrigued» by Pierce and came away «impressed» with him after his interview, adding that he wanted Pierce to «lead, not necessarily coach. To delegate to the coordinators and other position coaches. Be somebody they could follow. I felt good about it. I felt good about him.»

Raiders right tackle Jermaine Eluemunor said recently the players «love» playing for Pierce and Champ Kelly, who was promoted from assistant GM to replace Ziegler.

Still, Davis cannot unilaterally name Pierce, who