Aidan O'Connell

The Las Vegas Raiders and Kliff Kingsbury had agreed on a deal for Kingsbury to come on  as the Offensive Coordinator under Head Coach Antonio Pierce. That deal had not been signed, and Kingsbury changed his mind.

The Raiders’ search to fill out the coaching staff continues, and keeps the future of upstart rookie QB Aidan O’Connell in limbo. O’Connell performed well after subbing for and eventually earning the starting QB spot over Jimmy Garoppolo. Options for the Raiders include continuing with AOC, trading for a QB like Justin Fields, or drafting someone to take over.

The Las Vegas Raiders have announced the hiring of Tom Telesco for their vacant GM position. Telesco, the former Chargers GM, takes the reigns from interim GM Champ Kelly., who took over mid-season after the ouster of Dave Ziegler.

Telesco will be in charge of the team architecture and feelings about that seem mixed. While the Chargers were perennial media darlings based on the Telesco-headed roster construction, the results were not translated to the field. The Chargers have seemed to be the “on paper” champions while constantly underperforming. Some say the blame for that should lay, solely, at the feet of former HC Brandon Staley.

Though it remains to be seen what Telesco’s direction for the Raiders will ultimately be, Telesco’s history suggests he may want to acquire Oregon QB Bo Nix in the draft. The Raiders hold the 13th pick in the first round, and while Nix is not expected to be drafted that high, trading out and dropping to get Nix later, or drafting the 13th and using other capital to move up for Nix are also possibilities.

A move up for Jayden Daniels is also an option. The LSU QB played at Arizona State while new Raiders HC Antonio Pierce was an Associate Head Coach. Drafting Nix or Daniels wouldn’t bode well for the future of Aidan O’Connell as the Raiders’ starter at QB.

With the firing of Head Coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler, the Raiders’ interim staff, led by Head Coach Antonio Pierce, has chosen to start rookie Aidan O’Connell at QB over Jimmy Garoppolo.

The firings of McDaniels and Ziegler, as well as the benching of Jimmy G, came as welcome and long-overdue to Raider Nation after a start to the season that left the fans a little more than “disgruntled.” Garoppolo, who signed as a free agent after the unceremonious ousting of Raiders Legend Derek Carr, performed terribly, at best, while missing two games to injuries.

O’Connell, the rookie 4th round draft pick from Purdue, looked poised and efficient in his first start against the Chargers, until a terrible McDaniels play-call led to a game-ending interception and the loss. The news must also come as relief for owners of Raiders pass catchers. Davante Adams and Jakobi Meyers will both benefit from a more accurate deep-passer.

With back injury to Jimmy Garoppolo, the Las Vegas Raiders have given veteran QB Brian Hoyer the starting assignment in Week 7 as they travel to Chicago to face the Bears. Rookie Aidan O’Connell who started during Jimmy G’s previous absence will serve as Hoyer’s backup.

Hoyer was pushed into backup duty in Week 6 against the Patriots after Garoppolo left the game. His 6/10, 102 yard performance was all the Raiders needed to see to give him the start.

Raider Nation is upset by the move as they would prefer to see a promising rookie than a veteran with a mediocre track record. The fact that Hoyer has a stronger arm than Garoppolo and can target deep routes may just open up the Raiders’ offense and Hoyer should be considered a deep sleeper in an emergency fantasy situation.