HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — When Antonio Pierce became the Raiders’ interim coach midway through last season, his first major act was naming then-rookie Aidan O’Connell the starting quarterback.
Pierce, now the full-time Las Vegas coach, is turning again to O’Connell as the Raiders reach a critical part of their season while benching Gardner Minshew with the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting on Sunday.
O’Connell went 5-4 after he became the starter last season. Pierce said Wednesday he has seen the QB grow in confidence and become more vocal.
“He has a certain presence about himself,” Pierce said. “I love how he walks around the building, but really what I respect most is when we named Gardner the starter, he was like, ‘All right, I’ll be the best scout-team quarterback possible.’ He was lighting our (behind) up, and every day he gave us the best look.”
O’Connell didn’t dispute that characterization.
“I think there’s things I was naive to last year, things I really didn’t know that I think most …