AFC Notes: Aidan O’Connell, Raiders, Chargers

Chargers

The Chargers are headed to the postseason in the first year with HC Jim Harbaugh, fulfilling the expectation that Harbaugh would bring his winning ways to Los Angeles. Chargers S Derwin James outlined the differences with Harbaugh running the show and described his close relationship with his new coach. 

“Culture,” James said, via SI.com’s Albert Breer. “He gave us a culture. We know who we are when we look in the mirror. I feel like we’re building that team that nobody wants to play. We don’t have to rah-rah or go talk on Twitter. We’re just going to continue to show how we play week in and week out. We’re doing a great job with coach Harbaugh leading us.”

“I love him so much. He’s like a father away from home—not a coach, a father, teaching me how to become a better leader. I just want to give everything for that man. I’m happy he’s my coach. … He’s authentic. He’s real. You know what you’re going to get every day. His track record speaks for itself. Everywhere he’s been, he’s been winning.”

Chargers

The Chargers clinched a playoff berth in HC Jim Harbaugh‘s first season at the helm. Harbaugh specifically praised GM Joe Hortiz following Week 17’s clinching victory.

“He takes no deep, long bows, but he should,” Harbaugh said, via Kris Rhim of ESPN. “He should take a very deep, long bow for just how good he is and what he’s been able to do with this team.”

Hortiz praised assistant GM Chad Alexander for his work as an evaluator and leader of their front office. 

“The great thing with Chad is Chad can just run with it,” Hortiz said. “He’s such a great leader. And he’s a great evaluator, a great leader, extremely intelligent and just organized and just has everything the roadmap already laid out before I even go in there. It’s great.”

Chargers DC Jesse Minter thinks Hortiz did well to find players who fit their system.

“I think Joe has done a great job bringing in players whose skill set fits what we do,” Minter said. 

Raiders 

The Raiders are going into the offseason with major questions at quarterback and may find itself out of distance for the top options in the 2025 NFL Draft. Antonio Pierce told reporters he still considers Aidan O’Connell a “starting” caliber quarterback following Week 17. 

“I think Aidan O’Connell will be a starting NFL quarterback,” Pierce said, via ProFootballTalk.

Pierce continued to praise O’Connell, saying he’s been “resilient” since the last offseason. 

“Yeah, I think he’s been resilient, obviously go back to the quarterback competition in the spring and training camp,” Pierce said. “Thought he handled it like a pro. He was always ready to go. And then when we made a move to start him — I think the Rams week — obviously gives us a good chance there. And then he got injured and came back. I think he’s just a resilient player. I think it’s kind of like what we saw last year: Just the more reps he gets, the more opportunities he gets, he makes the most out of them, and like I said, whenever he protects the football, he puts us all in a better position.”