COSTA MESA, Calif. – For someone who supposedly finds himself in such a difficult situation, Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce definitely doesn’t seem burdened.

The Raiders have had a winning record in only two of the last 21 seasons, and their last postseason victory got here during former President George W. Bush’s first term. Given the franchise’s long-standing struggles, it seems the Raiders’ iconic motto needs an update: Just Win, Baby?

But if Pierce, who’s entering his first full season because the Raiders’ running back, is worried in regards to the team’s alleged major shortcomings, he has hidden it well.

As Pierce recently milled about monitoring training camp drills, he wore a broad smile. He was clearly energetic during transient meetings with assistant coaches and support staff between practice periods. And in his interactions with the ardent Raiders fans and reporters who cover the team, Pierce was an enticing ambassador for the franchise.

He’s not burying his head within the sand, Pierce said. He knows the Raiders are on a roll. It’s just that Pierce has shocked doubters throughout his playing profession, so he isn’t changing course now. Let others give attention to the Raiders’ apparent shortcomings. Pierce has a job to do. And make no mistake, he said, it’ll get done.

“My whole life (I’ve had) a back-to-the-wall mentality,” Pierce told Andscape. “I’ve always been told what I can’t do. And when you have the opportunity to go out and do it, and you’ve shown (before) that you can do it, why wouldn’t you believe you can do it again? And why wouldn’t you talk about doing it from now on?”

Pierce is respected inside the Raiders organization for not mincing words but taking motion.

In November 2023, Pierce was in just his second yr because the team’s linebackers coach when owner Mark Davis tapped him as interim coach. In the midst of a significant organizational shakeup, Davis ousted then-coach Josh McDaniels, who had failed to connect with players as Las Vegas descended into 3-5 chaos.

The ineffective Daniels seemed stuck in his glory days as an assistant coach with the New England Patriots, which meant about as much to the Raiders because the brand of lightbulbs utilized in their headquarters in Henderson, Nevada. Pierce immediately set about rebuilding the bridges within the locker room, as is normal for him.

Throughout his NFL playing days with the Washington Redskins and New York Giants, the previous middle linebacker was an excellent teammate and leader, former NFL players said. Pierce emphasized labor, trust and responsibility, telling Raiders players and coaches that he would expect no less of himself than he demanded of them. For grown men bored with the mini-dictator approach, Pierce’s style was refreshing.

The change in management philosophy translated into improved results on the pitch.

The Raiders went 5-4 under Pierce. The victories included a 20-14 victory over the archrival Kansas City Chiefs in Kansas City on Christmas Day, which delighted Davis and played a task in rewarding Pierce with a multi-year contract that allowed him to stay on. Confident in himself as the proper man to lead the Raiders, Pierce proved it to Davis as well.

“It’s not always perfect. Sometimes things don’t go the way you think they’re going to, and some things are just out of your control,” Pierce said. “The only thing I could control was my effort. That’s something you’ll be able to do day-after-day.

“The good thing about it is that everyone sees the effort. They see what you expect of yourself and what (standard) you set for yourself. Our players, coaching staff and Raider Nation saw that and supported me to be a head coach in the future. Mr. Davis saw that, too.”

As star wide receiver Davante Adams said, from what players saw each day, Pierce had loads of upside.

“AP is the right coach for any team,” the three-time first-team All-Pro said. “He’s real. He’s understanding. He’s very realistic (about the difficulty of the game), but he also upholds and maintains the standard of play that he believes in and that we all believe in. It’s just very, very easy to follow a guy (who) understands the bigger picture and has the same mindset that we do as players. It’s easy to get behind that.”

Born and raised in Southern California, Pierce, 45, fell in love with football and the Raiders as a baby. In 1982, the franchise moved from Oakland, California, where it was founded in 1960, to Los Angeles, where it played its home games at the large Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Although Pierce developed right into a standout linebacker and fullback at Paramount High in Paramount, California, he was not considered an elite college prospect. After two years at Mount San Antonio College, a community college in Walnut, California, Pierce transferred to the University of Arizona. Despite solid performances for the Wildcats, Pierce was not chosen within the 2001 NFL Draft.

In 2001, Washington signed Pierce as an undrafted rookie free agent. Undeterred by the way in which he arrived within the NFL, Pierce was determined to prove he was in the proper place.

By his fourth season, the determined Pierce had gone from a special teams player and little-used defensive linebacker to the team’s starting middle linebacker. He was rewarded for his perseverance when the Giants signed him as a free agent after the 2005 season.

Pierce finished his playing profession with the Giants by becoming a team captain, being named to the Pro Bowl and helping the Giants win Super Bowl XLII over favored New England, which was vying to change into the second undefeated team in league history. Before joining the Raiders, Pierce was an ESPN analyst and spent five seasons because the coach at Arizona State.

Including interim coaches, the Raiders have had 13 head coaches previously 21 seasons. For Pierce to enjoy longevity on the position, he needs to discover a way at quarterback. Fast. Sophomore Aidan O’Connell, who had some good moments as a rookie in Las Vegas last season, is competing with veteran Gardner Minshew II for the starting job.

The Raiders are, in a way, unlucky to play within the AFC West, which is run by the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs. Kansas City has won three Super Bowls in five seasons, becoming the NFL’s newest dynasty, and has won eight straight division titles.

Pierce is well aware of the Chiefs’ long list of accomplishments, but he won’t accept mediocrity, nor will he allow those under his command to accomplish that.

“You train and play this game to win the Lombardi (Super Bowl trophy). That’s it,” Pierce said. “So that’s what we attempt for.

“But more importantly, it’s something more for this organization, after not having the success we’ve been accustomed to over the last 25 years. It would be great to see, for me and for this team, something back for Raider Nation. To bring back the glory.”

To do this, the Raiders, like the remainder of the AFC, could have to face the Chiefs. Kansas City has appeared in six straight AFC Championship Games, winning 4.

Chiefs star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, widely considered the league’s best player, has terrorized the Raiders in 12 profession games against them, throwing 30 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions. The Chiefs are 10-2 in those games. So Pierce got here up with “The Patrick Mahomes Rules.”

In short, Pierce’s strategy emphasizes using physicality against Mahomes (inside the principles, in fact), hoping to affect the three-time Super Bowl MVP’s psychology. The concept harkens back to “The Jordan Rules,” a successful scheme utilized by the Detroit Pistons within the late Nineteen Eighties to demoralize Chicago Bulls point guard Michael Jordan, then the sport’s best player, within the playoffs.

A coach calling on defensive players to go above and beyond in harassing the league’s most iconic quarterback is something that plays well within the locker room. But not a lot within the league office.

Of course, NFL referees will likely be especially vigilant in monitoring things as teams play this season. The Raiders correctly kept away from commenting on the topic.

Pierce, for his part, said he isn’t holding back on any of the actions he’s taken since becoming Raiders coach, “because at the end of the day, you’ve got to try something different. You’ve got to try to make the change you want. I want to win. I want to win for the coaches, the players, Mr. Davis … everybody in Raider Nation. If we do that, if we can have that success again, that’s what makes me happy.”

And in pursuit of happiness, Pierce will come to work day-after-day with a positive attitude, trying to prove the naysayers flawed. So far, it’s an approach that has served him well.