The Las Vegas Raiders have finally settled on the general manager. Former Los Angeles Chargers GM Tom Telesco will now hold the same position with the Raiders.
Telesco and Brandon Staley were fired after the Raiders hung 63 points on the Chargers late this season. Telesco beat out Raiders interim GM Champ Kelly and Indianapolis Colts assistant GM Ed Dodds. Many thought Dodds and Kelly were in the lead for the GM job, but that was not the case. Kelly is still under contract with the Raiders as Assistant GM.
Last month, Raiders owner Mark Davis told The Athletic he was nervous about pairing a first-time head coach with a first-time general manager. The last time the Raiders had that setup came when former GM Reggie McKenzie hired former head coach Dennis Allen in 2012. The result was Allen went 8-28 and got fired four games into his third season on the job.
“So, I had a rookie GM and a rookie head coach,” Davis said to The Athletic. “We didn’t have a great football mind in the building to help them. That’s something I’ve learned throughout the process.”
With the Chargers, Telesco went 84-92 and made three playoff appearances in 11 seasons. According to Albert Beer, the Raiders brought Telesco back Monday for a second interview, and he met with Antonio Pierce to see how the two would mesh.
Telesco put together a solid roster with the Chargers, but the team always had injury problems, and the coaching could have been better. Telesco drafted Keenan Allen, Joey Bosa, Hunter, Henry Henry, Justin Herbert, and Austin Eckler and was able to trade for Khalil Mack,
Telesco must help the Raiders draft better and bring free agents to help the team. Las Vegas has not drafted well in many years, and Telesco is just years removed from dishing out a bad contract to J.C. Jackson. Plenty of Raiders fans did not have Telesco on the list for GM candidates, but Davis went with experience, and Telesco's knowledge of the AFC West could have played a part in the hiring.
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