Tag: Dave Ziegler

Report: Titans hiring Dave Ziegler to be assistant GM

The Tennessee Titans are reportedly hiring former Las Vegas Raiders GM Dave Ziegler to be their assistant GM.

The Tennessee Titans are busy scouting at the East-West Shrine Bowl, but that didn’t stop them from making a move to bolster their front office. 

Days after hiring Mike Borgonzi away from the Kansas City Chiefs to be their next general manager, the team moved to sign former Las Vegas Raiders general manager Dave Zeigler as an assistant. 

Ziegler spent 2024 with the New Orleans Saints as a personnel advisor after being fired by the Raiders in 2023. 

He started his NFL journey with the Denver Broncos as a player personnel assistant in 2010 before moving to the New England Patriots in 2013. In all, he spent 11 years with the Patriots, holding several roles including assistant director of pro scouting, director of pro personnel, assistant director of player personnel and director of player personnel during that stint. He was hired by the Raiders in 2022 as a first-time general manager. 

Ziegler has a strong background in personnel and scouting and should be an asset inside the new Titans organizational structure. 

[lawrence-related id=156545,156531,156526]

Titans poach from the Saints front office to hire assistant GM

Dave Ziegler has played an important role in the New Orleans Saints head coach search, but he’s leaving the front office for a promotion on the Tennessee Titans:

The New Orleans Saints front office is now down an advisor as Dave Ziegler was hired away by the Tennessee Titans to become their new assistant GM, per the MMQB’s Albert Breer. Ziegler had been heavily involved in the team’s head coach search and sat in on multiple interviews with candidates alongside general manager Mickey Loomis and top lieutenants Jeff Ireland, Khai Harley, and Michael Parenton along with another advisor in Randy Mueller.

Loomis spoke about the roles Ziegler and Mueller have had earlier this month, via the Times-Picayune | Advocate’s Rod Walker: “They are talented, experienced people. Dave’s got a lot of experience. Dave comes from a different line than the rest of us. Just doing all kinds of things for us and I really value their viewpoint.”

Ziegler was not with the Saints for long, but he may have been around for a bit longer than you’d have thought. New Orleans brought him in back in Feb. 2024 to help prepare the team for the NFL draft, but then ended hiring him as a full-time personnel advisor in July.

Before joining the Saints, he was the general manager for the Las Vegas Raiders. A lot of his acclaim comes from his time working with Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots from 2013 to 2021.

The already struggling search for a head coach will take another sizable hit as Ziegler had become an important voice in the New Orleans front office.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Three names emerge as Titans assistant GM candidates

The Tennessee Titans hired Mike Borgonzi as general manager, and there are three names emerging as possible assistant GM candidates.

The Tennessee Titans hired their new general manager, Mike Borgonzi, late last week. After settling in, it’s likely that he will begin to make his impact felt. One of the ways he will do that is by hiring an assistant general manager, and so far, there are three names at the top of the list: Dave Ziegler, Ken Dorsey, and Jim Nagy.

Dave Ziegler has been with the New Orleans Saints as a personnel advisor for the last year after being fired from the Las Vegas Raiders in 2023. Prior to that, he was with the New England Patriots for 11 years in several roles as assistant director of pro scouting, director of pro personnel, assistant director of player personnel, and director of player personnel.

Jim Nagy is the Executive Director of the Reese’s Senior Bowl and is a known associate of Mike Borgonzi. He has overseen both football and business operations for the Senior Bowl since 2018. Prior to that, Nagy was an NFL scout for 18 years, working with teams like the Washington Commanders, Seattle Seahawks, and New England Patriots.

Nagy also took to Twitter in February of 2023 in support of Borgonzi.

The third name that has appeared, although less frequently, is former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey. Dorsey entered the league as a player in 2003 and became the quarterbacks coach for the Carolina Panthers in 2013. He joined the Buffalo Bills in the same role in 2019 and was eventually named their offensive coordinator. He joined the Browns in that role in 2023 and was fired after one season.

The Titans certainly have options when it comes to an assistant general manager, so we’ll have to wait and see who Borgonzi decides to hire.

[lawrence-related id=156356,156346,156341]

Report: Saints front office exec eyed for role on new Titans staff

The Titans are building a new front office staff. New Orleans Saints personnel advisor and former Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler might be part of it:

As teams look to fortify their staff for this year’s upcoming season, there’s always the potential for some upheaval within other organizations. Teams that hire new head coaches and general managers, will often look to other teams staff to fulfill their duty of building one.

The Tennessee Titans recently made their selection for teams new general manager in Mike Borgonzi, former assistant GM of the Kansas City Chiefs. Borgonzi will now have to build a staff rather quickly in preparation for the 2025 NFL draft. One of the names that has been mentioned in assisting Borgonzi is New Orleans Saints personnel advisor Dave Ziegler.

Ziegler, former GM of the Las Vegas Raiders, was brought to New Orleans last offseason to help lead the personnel department alongside Micky Loomis, Jeff Ireland and Khai Harley. Ziegler has recently been working with the team this month in their search for a new head coach. Loomis mentioned in his end-of-season press conference that he along with Ziegler and others have all been a part of the interview process when examining their candidates.

If Ziegler were to join another team’s staff, the Saints would undoubtedly lose a prominent voice in their front office. Ziegler’s experience in New England during their prime years as well as his elevation to GM in Las Vegas, makes him an attractive option for any team looking for help in that department. We’ll see if anything comes to fruition in the coming days but nonetheless a name to watch around the league.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Saints front office executive reveals what he’d trade for Davante Adams

The Raiders are reportedly open to trading Davante Adams. Before he joined the Saints front office this year, Randy Mueller shared his take on Adams’ trade value:

We’re a month out from the NFL trade deadline on Nov. 5, and trade speculation is already gathering around Davante Adams. The Las Vegas Raiders are rudderless without a quarterback are open to trading the star wideout so they can load up for next year’s draft. The New Orleans Saints are a possible fit, and there’s at least one voice in their front office who sees some value in the six-time Pro Bowler.

Randy Mueller began working with the team this spring as they prepared for the 2024 draft, and he was formally hired to a role in the pro personnel department in August. He was seen palling around with Mickey Loomis and Khai Hartley on the Mercedes-Benz Stadium sideline during Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons. He’s one of three former NFL general managers working under Loomis, along with Jeff Ireland and Dave Ziegler, who traded for Adams when he was running the Raiders.

And what would Mueller trade for Adams? He shared his take earlier this year with Paul “Boy Green” Esden’s YouTube show.

“If I were looking to fill a need at receiver, I would probably offer them less than people would think,” Mueller said. “I would think it would be a second-round pick that maybe could go to a first if he meets some thresholds along the way. So it would be a conditional-type, stair-stepping of the compensation. 31 years old, is what it is.”

Adams will be 32 in a few months, but Mueller’s point stands. He isn’t going to be valued to the same degree he was when Ziegler’s Raiders sent a package of first- and second-round picks to the Green Bay Packers. But they are a rebuilding team without a quarterback, so they could use the ammo. And we’ve already gone over the math involved, which may push the Saints to up the ante to facilitate a deal. Still, if Mueller’s logic is sound, there could be a ceiling to what the Raiders can demand.

“I don’t think you can get a first round pick for Davante Adams at this point, I really don’t,” Mueller added.

Will Adams get traded? Will he go to New Orleans? Wilder things have happened, but this doesn’t look like a situation that will get resolved any time soon.

[lawrence-auto-related count=5]

Chiefs release former Raiders mid-round draft pick days before season opener

Chiefs release former Raiders mid-round draft pick days before season opener

The Chiefs hit the practice field today to start game week preparations for their Thursday Night Football opener. And they do so without Neil Farrell Jr and Matt Dickerson. As the two were both released from the team’s practice squad.

Farrell was a round four pick by the Raiders in the 2022 draft as part of Josh McDaniels and Dave Ziegler’s first draft class. He played nine games as a rookie in Las Vegas, but after showing up out of shape to begin 2023 camp, he was ultimately traded to the Chiefs before the start of his second season.

The former LSU Tiger appeared in three games last season and was among the players the team waived on cutdown day, after which he was re-signed to the practice squad. That lasted a few days before the team simply cut him altogether.

Farrell was one of four defensive tackles the Raiders selected in McDaniels and Ziegler’s two drafts with the Raiders. Only one still remains on the team — 2023 seventh round pick Nesta Jade Silvera. The two highest drafted ones were Farrell and 2023 third round pick Byron Young. Young was waived last week and claimed by the Eagles.

As it happens Dickerson once spent time with the Raiders on their offseason roster in 2021.

New Orleans Saints hire Dave Ziegler as a personnel advisor

The New Orleans Saints are officially hiring ex-Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler as a personnel advisor after he helped them prepare for the 2024 NFL draft:

The New Orleans Saints have hired former Las Vegas Raiders general manager Dave Ziegler as a personnel advisor, per Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football. This comes after Ziegler worked with the Saints’ front office this offseason before the 2024 NFL draft in an advisory role, but now he’s an official voice in the room.

Ziegler has a long career in various positions across the league, including positions with the Denver Broncos from 2010-2012, New England Patriots from 2013-2021, and Raiders from 2022-2023. All of these roles in some capacity were related to scouting or personnel management, explaining why the Saints would consider him for this fit. He is also a three-time Super Bowl champion with the Patriots, including their 28-3 comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons.

He will join general manager Mickey Loomis, assistant general managers Jeff Ireland and Khai Harley, and others in the front office in scouting personnel for the Saints, and making decisions towards their future as a team. These types of roles are critical to the long-term success of a team in identifying and developing talent, and having the connections to winning that he has had previously is a good sign for what he can bring in this role.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

Raiders team discontent, coaching change last season chronicled on Netflix’s Receiver

By following Davante Adams last season, Netflix’s Receiver managed to capture the frustration of the team that led to a big change midseason.

While a season is in full swing, players usually don’t let on just how frustrated they are. But with the tumultuous 2023 season for the Raiders now firmly in the past, along with many of the causes of that tumult now gone, we can look back and see just how bad it had gotten.

This week, the Netflix series Receiver was released. Among the five receivers featured is Raiders All Pro Davante Adams. And along with that, we get an inside look at just how frustrating things had gotten for Adams and the Raiders under the reign of former head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler.

We start to see the wheels falling off in episode three of of the series. That’s when Adams is getting increasingly frustrated because he has an injured shoulder and believes that, along with the hit that caused the injury, he is getting hit a lot more than he ever was in the first nine years of his career.

Likely making the pain a lot less bearable was the fact that he was not seeing accurate red zone and deep targets. While the offense had yet to crack 20 points in a game.

His frustration comes to a head in episode four of the series. After an ugly loss to the Bears in Week seven he vents his frustrations to the sympathetic ears of his best friend and his barber. While seeming to not care one bit that the entire rant was being filmed.

Davante may catch some flak for saying his benchmark is not wins and losses but rather greatness. After all, we all like for players to say individual performance doesn’t matter at all. That nothing matters but wins and losses. But, for Davante, all he can do is control what he can control. And striving for greatness is doing just that.

Besides, he clarifies that statement by adding that it’s not just about him, but rather it’s two parts to the same equation.

“If it don’t look right and I’m not getting opportunities well then now we got a problem,” said Davante. “That’s what I’m here for…and if I’m not being given the proper amount of opportunities and it looks like dogs–t on offense, it’s time to do something about it.”

In other words, if the offense is working well and he isn’t the focal point, fine. But if the offense is not working AND he’s not getting the ball, then there’s a problem.

He’s not wrong. And in most cases, that mindset is what ultimately decides whether a team wins or loses.

It didn’t take long for the last few words of his statement to become reality. Not a week later the Raiders *did* do something about it.

A bad loss to the Lions brought the frustrations to a head for Adams. Passes from Jimmy Garoppolo were all over the field and he found Adams just once for 11 yards on seven attempts.

Several Lions players were overheard talking about how frustrated Adams must be with his QB and his offense.

The next day, the architects of that offense were fired and the quarterback was benched. Moves Davante said he not only signed off on, but his remaining with the Raiders may have hinged upon it.

Thus began the Antonio Pierce era in Las Vegas, along with a new energy on the Raiders. They won their first game while the offense scored over 20 points (30) for the first time all season. Davante had just four catches for 34 yards, but he was excited the offense functioned properly. And gave the game ball to his new quarterback, Aidan O’Connell.

The new energy the Raiders had after that is something we should see more of as the series continues.

Former Saints GM Randy Mueller returns to help with 2024 draft prep

Former Saints GM Randy Mueller returned to help his old friend Mickey Loomis with 2024 draft prep:

It’s not often you see a team’s former general manager return to help out his successor, but that’s the unique position the New Orleans Saints took in  preparing for the 2024 NFL draft. Nola.com’s Jeff Duncan reported that former Saints GM Randy Mueller spent the last two weeks assisting with final evaluations.

Mueller earned recognition as the NFL Executive of the Year back in 2000, having overhauled the Saints’ roster and set them up on the road to recovery from Mike Ditka’s disastrous trade for Ricky Williams. But he was unceremoniously ousted by team owner Tom Benson just a few years later, and replaced by Loomis.

Those two go way back. Loomis followed Mueller to New Orleans from the Seattle Seahawks, and they’ve maintained a relationship even after Mueller was shown the door so many years ago. But Mueller isn’t the only former general manager that Loomis has added to the team’s war room.

Jeff Ireland is another. The former Miami Dolphins executive has ran the Saints’ college scouting department for nearly a decade, and he’s one of the most highly regarded talent evaluators in the league. And we shouldn’t overlook Dave Ziegler. The ex-Las Vegas Raiders general manager joined the Saints earlier this offseason and has been a big help on the pro day circuit helping to gather information.

So there’s really four general managers sharing their input as the Saints approached the 2024 draft: Loomis, Ireland, Ziegler, and Mueller. Hopefully their combined efforts result in some difference-making draft picks.

[lawrence-auto-related count=4]

10 worst moments that led to Josh McDaniels’ firing as Raiders head coach

10 most mindblowing moments of Josh McDaniels’ ill-fated Raiders tenure

It’s not lost on me that in just 25 games as Raiders head coach, I was able to pretty easily put together a list of ten utterly terrible moments that led to Josh McDaniels being fired.

The man who talked openly about all the mistakes he made when he first got a head coaching job ten years earlier ended up getting fired even quicker than he had in his doomed Denver stint. He lasted 28 games as Broncos head coach. He fell short of that by three games (25) with the Raiders.

This is a clear case of how it started, how it’s going. It started poorly. And it got worse. As hard as that might have been to believe possible just a year and a half ago.

For this, I put together a top ten list. But with Mark Davis saying McDaniels was fired because he saw regression rather than progress, I thought it captured that best to list them chronologically.

So, enjoy the ride. Mainly because it’s over now and you can look back thankful it’s over.