Pierce faces uphill battle to show he should be the Raiders coach

HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Antonio Pierce knows the NFL is a results-based business, and he has five games remaining to prove his case that the Raiders should remove the interim tag and name him the head coach.

“I’m racing time now,” Pierce said Monday. “Clock is ticking. It’s almost over. I get it. But the best part about it, I know whenever this is over that I’ve gotten better.”

Las Vegas is 2-2 since he replaced the fired Josh McDaniels, with victories over both New York teams that are a combined 8-15 and losses to Miami and Kansas City, each 8-3 and leaders of their respective divisions.

So no surprises there, and there isn’t enough evidence yet that Pierce should be the Raiders coach past this season. Also no evidence that he shouldn’t be that person.

But what’s to come after the bye week doesn’t exactly work in Pierce’s favor.

Four of the Raiders’ final five games are against teams with winning records, including a rematch with the Chiefs in Kansas City. The only team with a losing record, the 4-7 Los Angeles Chargers, already beat Las Vegas 24-17 on Oct. 1, and Justin Herbert is one of the league’s most talented quarterbacks.

The Raiders did beat one of those final five opponents, opening the season with a 17-16 victory at Denver. But the Broncos are riding a five-game winning streak at the moment, and Russell Wilson is finding his old playmaking groove.

If Pierce can at least be competitive down the stretch and maybe even steal a victory or two, he could make a strong argument to keep the job. He also would have history working in his favor, with the memory fresh from two years ago of Davis bypassing interim coach Rich Bisaccia — who had just taken the Raiders to the playoffs — in favor of the big name in McDaniels.