Has Antonio Pierce proven he should be Raiders’ permanent coach?

In the immediate aftermath of Mark Davis’ decision to fire Josh McDaniels on Halloween night, a handful of NFL sources shared their thoughts on the attributes the Raiders owner should focus on in choosing his next coach.

One text in particular stood out. It came from an NFL team executive who suggested the Raiders need to find a leader who embodies the principles they historically stood for but missed on with some recent hires.

“Being a Raider is a mindset, an ethos, a concept.” the executive wrote. “People need to buy into that and not fight it. It doesn’t mean things need to stay the same, but being a Raider means something and carries responsibility.”

Nearly two months later, it seems as if the Raiders found that exact leader in Antonio Pierce, the interim coach Davis turned to after firing McDaniels.

With each passing week, Pierce is cementing his candidacy as the team’s permanent coach.

“There’s a mentality and mindset in this locker room,” cornerback Nate Hobbs said.

And it’s being directed by Pierce, who hopes he is building a winning résumé.

“Hopefully, Mark Davis sees improvement and growth within our team. He sees a style in play that he wants from the Raiders,” Pierce said. “He sees a fan base that’s behind us. He sees a building that loves coming to work, loves being here. And at the end of the day, we’ve got to win, and right now my record, our record, is 4-3.”

By league rule, after the season, the Raiders must officially open their coaching vacancy to an extensive search that satisfies the NFL’s hiring practices. That includes interviewing at least two external minority or female candidates.

Pierce, though, is making a strong case for getting the job. And it goes far beyond the 4-3 record he’s overseen, including the stirring road win over the Chiefs on Christmas Day that followed the 63-21 beatdown of the Chargers.

From the moment Pierce was put in charge, there has been a seismic shift in how players express themselves in talk and action. Pierce has empowered them to embrace and embody the Raiders’ swashbuckling mentality and urged them to do so unapologetically and without hesitancy.

Offensive tackle Jermaine Eluemunor has discussed delivering body blows to opponents and playing violently. Cornerback Amik Robertson has unabashedly pointed to the Raiders having “more dawgs” than other teams. Hobbs continually refers to the new mindset of the Raiders.

Each of them credits Pierce for giving them the freedom to talk and perform with that kind of bravado.

The resulting liberation has allowed the Raiders to play with the type of confidence and fierceness the organization once personified. It also allowed the Raiders to take a chance on young cornerback Jack Jones, a talented but volatile player who ran afoul of the Patriots’ ways in New England and found himself on the waiver wire midway through his second season. In many ways, it was a throwback to the type of move the late Al Davis often made by bringing in an ultra-talented, if not a bit wayward, player who would benefit from the Raiders’ culture.

Pierce, who coached Jones in high school and college and is well aware of his personality, convinced Mark Davis and interim general manager Champ Kelly that Jones could flourish, warts and all, in the environment Pierce was building.

Jones, now free to be himself but also mindful and respectful of the man in charge, has emerged as one of the best players on a tough, talented young defense. He credits Pierce with providing him with the space.

“It’s not even just me. I don’t want to make it personal,” Jones said. “It’s the team. Coach AP allows everybody to go out there and be themselves and play football and have the love for the game.”

It’s in stark contrast to what Jones experienced in New England and how the Raiders operated before Pierce took over.

“When you’ve got a coach that’s ‘don’t do this’ or that’s kind of strict, it takes the fun out of the game,” Jones said.

That doesn’t mean Pierce allows his players to act recklessly. He expects them to play with respect to the rules and know what lines not to cross.

“We’re professional athletes. We’ve been doing this for however many years,” Jones said. “We understand the do’s and don’ts.”

Contact Vincent Bonsignore at vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore on X.