Graney: Make no mistake — Pierce is in charge as Raiders begin camp

COSTA MESA, Calif. — He had a run-up of nine games as interim coach last season. A way to learn what it’s all about. What leading an NFL team entails. What buttons to push, what mentors to rely on for help and guidance.

But make no mistake now: Antonio Pierce is in charge.

You knew this as he addressed the media Tuesday, less than 24 hours before his Raiders opened training camp in this Orange County city a few miles from the Pacific Ocean.

He has a plan. He intends on executing it.

And it will have a certain feel to it.

“There’s nothing slow about what we’re doing,” Pierce said. “We’re going to hit the field running, building competition. I just think our guys are eager. You know, there’s a lot of burning desire in our players. I want to just get out there and play.”

Pads are key

Things won’t really ramp up until July 30, when the Raiders will be in full pads for the first time. They’ll scrimmage then. They’ll go live. They’ll tackle, they’ll get a feel for their team and they’ll try like crazy to begin separating the two quarterbacks (Aidan O’Connell and Gardner Minshew) battling for the starter’s role.

It’s a different vibe with Pierce in charge. Just as focused but not as heavy as when former coach Josh McDaniels prepared to open camp last year. There’s a different tenor to things and how Pierce approaches them.

He has come full circle. Pierce grew up not 30 miles from here in Long Beach. Grew up a huge Raiders fan. And now he’s back in Southern California as coach of the team.

They aren’t making a big deal about the weather here compared to sweltering Las Vegas, but know there’s a much better chance of getting more intense work done in temperatures that will hover around 76 degrees.

This training-camp move might have a lot to do with the bonding Pierce talks about, but you can’t in any way discount a higher level of comfort when checking off the positives of such a decision.

“I’m more confident now than as a player,” said Pierce, who played nine NFL seasons and won a Super Bowl with the Giants. “Then, you don’t know what to expect, right? You’re fighting for your life.

“It’s a little different here. You can really gauge and control the tempo of your players and practice. You know, there might be days we have pads on and I don’t feel like it. We’re not going to have pads on. So you control the narrative, obviously, as a head coach, and I’m going to do what’s best for the players.”

He wants more than anything for the Raiders to be consistent. For this not to be a roller coaster of a season. For the effort and intensity and execution to be just as sharp in losses as wins.

Landing back home

“I don’t honestly feel any pressure because we’re prepared, we’re ready,” Pierce said. “We have a very strong agenda of what we’re going to get done here over the next 17 days. I don’t feel any pressure at all. And I know our players don’t. We don’t play that way. I’m not coaching that way.

“It’s all peaches and cream right now, right? Sun’s bright. But there’s always some dark moments and some dark days. We’re going to have to be ready to go through some adversity together. I love it. When we landed and the plane hit the tarmac, I smiled. Good to be home. I’m excited to be here and excited for our players.”

The interim tag was removed some time ago. He had a run-up of nine games to prepare for this. Antonio Pierce on Wednesday opens his first training camp as coach of his beloved Raiders.

Make no mistake who’s in charge.

Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. He can be heard on “The Press Box,” ESPN Radio 100.9 FM and 1100 AM, from 7 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. Follow @edgraney on X.