Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce reflects on his journey at Media Day

The long-awaited Antonio Pierce era is getting closer for the Las Vegas Raiders.

In just three months, Pierce will coach his first game as the Silver and Black’s full-time head coach. After an impressive interim period in which he caused surprises, broke records and captivated fans and players, Pierce has more than earned the job.

Pierce joked Monday at Media Day with JT the Brick, Raiders legend Eric Allen and Your Boy Q that he almost didn’t attend last year. He reflected on his journey to becoming a head coach during Monday’s four-hour “Media Day Live Raiders Roundtable” on the team’s YouTube channel.

“It was a great opportunity,” Pierce said. “Fun, exciting, I’m looking forward to it. I’m looking forward to training camp, looking forward to tying all the guys in the pads together, and building on what we’ve been doing over the last few months in the offseason program, and let it all happen as we go onto the grass.

Allen asked Pierce how he felt his coaching style and culture-building methods have evolved over time and whether it has become easier to coach the way he coaches.

According to Pierce, yes.

“If your top players, if your best players believe, it’s easy for everyone to line up,” he said. “I think you get the message across for me; you don’t harp on it; you give your coaches, your coordinators and then your players the power to own it. I think the cool thing about this whole situation is, “Okay, AP, I have the vision, I have the plan.” But without people there is no plan and no vision.”

Pierce is convinced that the culture of the organization is in good hands.

“We have the right people in place, both with our staff, our players, the guys we drafted, guys we brought in through free agency; they understand what the Raider Way is,” he said. “That was our most important conversation: Do you understand the culture that we’re creating and that we’re building? And the best thing about it is that it’s not AP that sets the culture. It’s the players, it’s the building, it’s everyone doing it. It is collective, and that is what you see.”

There is a palpable buzz surrounding the Raiders this offseason. Now it’s up to Pierce to put everything together and lead the team back to the postseason.

You can watch the full Media Day stream here.

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