When the Las Vegas Raiders fired Josh McDaniels midway through the year, they knew they'd have to begin their head coaching search once the regular season ends. However, a search may not be necessary after all if they decide to go with interim coach Antonio Pierce.

Pierce made a convincing argument that he could be deserving of the full-time head coaching gig after the Raiders' dominant 63-21 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. This win was significant for multiple reasons. Not only was it one of the most one-sided games all season, but it demonstrated a lot about Pierce's character as a coach. For one, it showed his ability to rebound. The Raiders were coming off an embarrassing 3-0 loss to the Minnesota Vikings in which they failed to score. They could have easily continued to slug along on offense, but instead put up 63 points. 63! They started off with a 21-point first quarter and 42 points after just the first half.

Beyond their prolific production on the scoreboard, Pierce also had the perfect mentality to keep their lead. Instead of slowing down after their 42-point halftime lead, Pierce told his team to ‘not let up.' With the amount of comebacks and blown leads the NFL sees these days, Pierce's approach is what teams need these days.

Overall, Pierce has helped better his players. The Raiders have far from the most talented roster, but Pierce has gotten more out of his players in several games than the previous regime. Rookie quarterback Aidan O'Connell is one of the players. O'Connell threw four touchdowns in the Raiders win over the Chargers, and has shown enough strides this season to be in the conversation for their future quarterback.

The improvement from players is not just because of Pierce's methods, but because the players genuinely believe in their coach. This is far different than the rumors coming out of Las Vegas when Josh McDaniels was still the coach. From everything said publicly, the Raiders players really like Pierce and mesh well with their new coach. For a franchise that has long struggled with hiring a coach, it could be smart to pick one who already knows the organization and gets along well with the players.

Of course, Pierce isn't the perfect candidate. His case to be the next head coach would be more obvious if the Raiders were 5-1 or 6-0 since he took over. The Raiders are 3-3 and have been competitive under Pierce, but they've still had their faults. A completely scoreless outing against the Vikings was not a good look. Neither was blowing a 14-0 lead against the Chiefs or losing three straight. Yes it's great that the Raiders have won three games, with two in dominant fashion, but none have come against a winning team. If the Raiders want to become contenders, they'll have to eventually beat winning teams which they have yet to consistently do in a long time.

Outside of this concern, Pierce doesn't have a ton of NFL coaching experience. He only got his first NFL coaching gig in 2022 when McDaniels hired him as their linebackers coach. He's served that role until he was also promoted to their interim coach this year. Most coaching hires do have experience as an NFL coordinator prior to becoming a coach, but Pierce has only worked as a position coach at the NFL level. Still, he could get past that obstacle since he's already worked as the interim coach and has shown good leadership so far. Ultimately, the decision will be up to Raiders owner Mark Davis.

Mark Davis has previously stated that the search is ‘wide open,' but he'd love for Antonio Pierce to earn the role. Pierce's final three games this year versus the Colts, Broncos and Chiefs should determine a lot, but Davis would be wise to seriously consider Pierce regardless. Of course they'll look at other options, but for an organization that scares a lot coaching candidates away, they have a strong option who already wants to work and better the Raiders in Pierce.