Now that Antonio Pierce has been installed as the new Las Vegas Raiders head coach in the fallout of Josh McDaniel’s firing, his first major decision in the role is expected to be benching starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Halloween on the West Coast ended with some stunning news in the NFL. For the second time in his career, Josh McDaniels was unable to complete his second season as a head coach when Raiders owner Mark Davis decided he had enough and sent him packing on Tuesday night.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders fire head coach Josh McDaniels, GM Dave Ziegler
The unexpected midseason move also included the dismissal of General Manager Dave Ziegler — the man who hired McDaniels — and that linebackers coach Antonio Pierce would now take over as head coach for the rest of what has been a messy 2023 season for the franchise.
The former New York Giants star takes over a 3-5 team that is not out of the playoff chase if they can right the ship and turn things around over the next 10 weeks. The team has the worst unit in our NFL defense rankings, however, it seems that the former linebacker is looking at the offense as the place that could use a major shake-up right away in Week 9.
New Las Vegas Raiders head coach expected to bench Jimmy Garoppolo in NFL Week 9
On Wednesday morning, Las Vegas Review-Journal Raiders reporter Vincent Bonsignore reported “Per a source with knowledge, Raiders are leaning toward Aidan O’Connell as their starting quarterback this week against the Giants.”
Following the report, NFL Media league insider Ian Rapoport confirmed with sources inside the organization that O’Connell will get the start on Sunday. The source also claimed the change was made by saying, “he’s our best QB.”
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The news is not completely shocking since incumbent starter QB Jimmy Garoppolo has been a massive disappointment in his first season in Las Vegas. He has missed a couple of games due to injury, yet he still leads the NFL with nine interceptions after the first eight weeks of the season.
Rookie Aidan O’Connell has been a favorite of the coaching staff since the summer and was given the opportunity to start in the games that Garoppolo has missed in 2023. There has been a great deal of frustration for many stars on offense and a permanent change at QB and in philosophy likely will boost morale, at least, in the short term.
