In their four seasons in Las Vegas, the Raiders have had four different head coaches.

Right now Antonio Pierce is their interim head coach, a position the Raiders elevated him to after firing Josh McDaniels at the end of October.

Under Pierce, the Raiders finished the season with five wins and four losses.

Several Raiders players think he deserves the chance to build on that success next season as the team's full-time head coach.

But boy are there a lot of big name options out there.

And here to help us filter the fantasy and reach some reality is Mike Pritchard, a Football Analyst and Former NFL Wide Receiver.

Mike, welcome.

(Mike Pritchard) Thank you for having me.

-I say "fantasy" because of coaches like Bill Belichick and Pete Carroll, who after so many years with the same teams are finally available.

But of all the big names out there, I didn't mention Jim Harbaugh or Mike Vrabel.

What is the likelihood of the Raiders actually landing one of them?

-Well, I mean, anything and everything can happen when you're going through a coaching search.

It all depends on the owner.

It all depends on the search committee, what they want, what they're looking for.

Certainly the players have input as well.

But it's anybody's guess at this point.

You mentioned these top names.

It's incredible to think about the names that are available for the Raiders right now, from a coaching standpoint, and they have to get it right.

You just mentioned four head coaches in the four years they've been here.

I mean, it's incredible to think about the Raiders that way, as they relocated here to Vegas, but they gotta get it right.

Mark Davis knows that.

There's a lot of pressure on that as well.

So it's anybody's guess at this point which direction they're gonna go in.

-There are several people guessing that it will be Antonio Pierce.

-Right.

-What's at stake if the Raiders do not hire him?

-More misery.

I think some of the players have talked about the lack of continuity, the increased amount of losing.

And frankly, Mark Davis, you have a hiring problem.

We had Richard Bisaccia here, some of the older players or some of the players that have been with the organization for a while.

That seemed to work out because we got to the playoffs, but then you let him go.

-And he was the interim.

-And he was interim, and you let him go for something that you thought was bigger.

So there's some questions, I believe, in the locker room in terms of the guidance or the direction that the ownership wants to take this franchise.

And they're legitimate questions.

I mean, I think if you're Maxx Crosby and you're one of the better players in the National Football League, but yet you're stymied by all this losing and misery, you get tired of that.

-Yeah.

And you've got Davante Adams who's pulling for Pierce.

You've got Josh Jacobs.

I mean, does the team owner, Mark Davis, really have a choice?

-He does.

He's the owner, right?

-Yeah.

-You always have a choice, always had final say-so.

But will he listened to the players?

Will he take their input?

He's got to be careful with that, though, because frankly, the players, they can't dictate what the ownership or executive level wants to do with the franchise.

Everybody's got to be on the same page.

We get that.

And hopefully, the new coach, like if it's Mike Vrabel, that's an upgrade, right?

If it's Jim Harbaugh, that's an upgrade.

If it's Bill Belichick, that's an upgrade.

So as a player, you can't get mad at that.

You can't.

But you have to understand the process, certainly what the ownership and the search committee is gonna go through.

You have your desires and you know what you want, but you don't have final say-so.

So there's nothing you can do about that.

So I think as a player, you just got to make sure that your voice is heard and that it's respected.

But then once that decision is made, you still have to play at a high level.

-So if Mike Vrabel is an upgrade, Bill Belichick is an upgrade, Jim Harbaugh is an upgrade, Antonio Pierce is a...?

-He is-- that's a great question.

I love that one.

He is a curious hire with a potential to be a fantastic hire.

How about that?

Because the results that he was able to obtain in a short amount of time was remarkable.

It's a breath of fresh air, really, and it's something that has connected the players to the Raiders of old.

And certainly Raider Nation, the fans have spoken.

They love Antonio Pierce because they believe he's a Raider.

They believe he's from Southern California, and the Raiders were in Southern California for a while, and he connects with them.

And so the fans want Antonio Pierce, but is he gonna be able to win games in this division against Andy Reid, against perhaps Jim Harbaugh?

And then you think about the players in this league, Patrick Mahomes and people like that, and Sean Payton, the Broncos head coach.

So Antonio Pierce is up against it.

The security is higher, but yet I think he still has to prove himself, which could turn into a fantastic hire.

-So Antonio Pierce was the linebackers coach, was a linebacker in the NFL for several seasons.

His highest level of head coaching experience is high school.

-Right, it is.

-Why is that not getting talked about more?

-Well, you know, a coach is a guy or a person who is supposed to motivate, push the right buttons, and make sure everybody's on the same page.

Antonio Pierce is-- he has leadership skills.

And therefore, I think that's why Mark Davis gave him the opportunity to become the interim.

Now, you have to also manage your staff.

You also have to create excitement in the building and keep that excitement, creative standard.

I think Antonio Pierce has done that, created a standard, created a culture that everybody loves and they can feel it.

But can he compete against Sean Payton, Andy Reid, and these Hall of Fame coaches or these Super Bowl winning coaches, Jim Harbaugh, if he goes to the Chargers?

So that's what I think Mark Davis is going to weigh, more so than the person, Antonio Pierce.

He's an incredible person, he's an incredible leader, but yet you wonder if he has the coaching experience to, to get the results everybody wants.

-And can he go up against those coaches if he does not have his defensive coordinator-- -That's right.

- --who some say should have been named head coach?

-Exactly.

Well, Patrick Graham, I don't know him that well.

I know him from a defensive coordinator standpoint.

He's incredible, but yet is he head coaching material?

I mean, there's so many ways you can go with this.

But Antonio Pierce is head coaching material, he's displayed that, but is he the right person for the job right now for the Raiders?

-And next season, what do the Raiders need?

I mean, the last 20 years, two playoff appearances.

Where do you start with this team?

-Quarterback.

You need a quarterback.

And we talked about those great coaches, and a lot of times those great coaches are without jobs because they don't have a quarterback.

If you're a Hall of Fame coach, you pretty much have a Hall of Fame quarterback.

And the Raiders, their last great quarterback...

I mean, Derek Carr was awesome, but he wasn't elevating the team to where they got to a Super Bowl, like Rich Gannon.

That's where you gotta go.

That's how far back you gotta go with the Raiders in terms of the success level that this franchise has enjoyed and that everybody wants to see for this franchise.