Tag: General Manager candidates

Raiders line up several GM interviews while interim GM Champ Kelly sees outside interest

Raiders line up several GM interviews while interim GM Champ Kelly sees outside interest

The words ‘due diligence’ are going to be used a lot in the coming weeks and months, so prepare for that. A strong and inspired finish to this past season has many hoping the Raiders retain interim head coach Antonio Pierce and interim general manager Champ Kelly. Whether that happens or not remains to be seen, but the Raiders are doing their — wait for it — due diligence before making any official decisions.

Head coaches and GM’s are increasingly package deals in the league. Many coaches want to have some say in who the GM will be and vice versa. Which is why, until a decision is made on one position, the decision has not been made on either position.

Setting aside the head coach position for the time being, the Raiders are seeking out potential GM’s to speak with as part of that process.

Just in the past 24 hours, the Raiders have lined up interviews with three potential General Managers. — 49ers Asst GM Adam Peters, Colts Asst GM Ed Dodds, and former Chargers GM Tom Telesco.

Meanwhile Champ Kelly has received interest from the Panthers for their GM job.

None of this means the Raiders won’t hold onto Kelly ultimately. First and foremost, he needs to be prepared in case they don’t and it’s always a good to be in demand.

But should the Raiders really like one of the head coach candidates and he would prefer someone else as GM, the Raiders need to be prepared for that. Likewise, if they fall in love with one of these GM candidates in the interview process, they will need him to be onboard with the head coaching decision.

 

 

Raiders expected to hire Patriots exec Dave Ziegler as new General Manager

Raiders expected to name Dave Ziegler as new GM

It’s been leaning this way for the past few days. After a long meeting on Friday, the Raiders are expected to name former Patriots personnel man Dave Ziegler as their new General Manager according to NFT media’s Ian Rapoport.

Ziegler is referred to as the Patriots de facto GM because Bill Belichick holds to the title of head coach and General Manager. Belichick was recently named the PFWA Executive of the Year.

Ziegler’s official title is director of player personnel. A title he held for just one year with the Patriots. He spent the previous year as assistant director of player personnel and the three years prior as director of pro personnel.

As Rapoport notes, this news figures to lead to the team also hiring Patriots OC Josh McDaniels as their next head coach. Another move that had been expected should the team go with Ziegler as GM. The two seemingly coming over as a package deal from New England.

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Former Titans GM Ruston Webster interviews with Raiders for GM job

A second GM interview from Tuesday has emerged for Raiders open GM job. It’s former Titans GM Ruston Webster.

A second interview conducted by the Raiders on Tuesday has been revealed.

Along with Steelers Pro Scouting Coordinator Brandon Hunt, the Raiders also interviewed former Titans GM Ruston Webster for the job according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Webster is currently a national scout for the Falcons. He had served as General Manager for the Titans for six years from 2010-15. Prior to that, he was the VP of Player Personnel with the Seahawks from 2006-09. He entered the NFL front office with the Buccaneers in 1988 holding various personnel roles until 2005.

Webster’s including puts the number of candidates to interview for the Raiders GM job at eight.

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Vikings hire a General Manager, leaving Raiders as only NFL team still without a GM

Raiders are now the only team in the NFL without a GM

On one hand, yeah, it’s taking a while for the Raiders to hire a general manager. On the other hand, they now have no competition in the hiring process, so if any of their candidates are eager to become an NFL GM right now, the Raiders are their only option.

There were four teams in the market for a GM this offseason. The other three have all found their guy.

That latest was the Vikings who today hired former Browns VP of Football Operations Kwesi Adofo-Mensah as their next GM. The other two GM hires were the Bears hiring former Chiefs Executive Director of Player Personnel, Ryan Poles and the Giants hiring former Bills Assistant GM Joe Schoen.

The Raiders have either requested or have interviewed six different candidates for their GM opening. Bengals scout Trey Brown, Bears Assistant Director of Player Personnel Champ Kelly, Colts Assistant GM Ed Dodds, Buccaneers VP of Player Personnel John Spytek, Patriots Director of Player Personnel Dave Ziegler, and an in-house interview with Director of Pro Personnel Dwayne Joseph.

The Vikings had interviewed Spytek and the Bears had interviewed Kelly.

It’s important to get the right guy for the job, but there is a bit of ticking clock here. First and foremost, the Raiders also need a head coach and the GM hiring should come first. Second, there is the matter of offseason activities. The next being the Senior Bowl on February fifth.

That’s just ten days away and it would be good for the Raiders to have both their new GM and head coach in place by then.

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Raiders interview Steelers personnel man Brandon Hunt for General Manager position

The latest GM interview for the Raiders is with Steelers personnel man Brandon Hunt

The interviews continue for the Raiders as they attempt to hire a new General Manager. Today the seventh report came out of the Raiders interviewing a candidate. Tuesday they interviewed Steelers Pro Scouting Coordinator Brandon Hunt according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.

Hunt has been in his position with the Steelers for the past 12 years. The Steelers have not had a losing season in that time. Or three years prior. Not to say their success is attributed to Hunt, but being in a winning environment for that long lends some credibility being that he is well versed in how a winning club operates.

Raiders request interview with Buccaneers exec John Spytec for open General Manager job

Same day Raiders request interview with Bucs DC Todd Bowles for their head coach position, they request an interview Bucs exec John Spytec for open General Manager job

Early Tuesday reports came out that the Raiders are requesting an interview with Buccaneers Defensive Coordinator Todd Bowles for their head coaching position. Now reports have the Raiders requesting an interview with Bucs’ personnel man John Spytec according to ESPN’s Tom Pelissero.

A lot has been made about the possibility of the Raiders essentially hiring a GM and head coach who have worked together in some capacity. That would certainly apply to Bowles and Spytec. Though that isn’t an automatic. Successful teams often have coaches and executives poached by other teams.

And if you’d like to see connections, Spytek played football at Michigan. Jim Harbaugh is currently the head coach at Michigan.

Raiders hold in-house General Manager interview with Dwayne Joseph

Raiders hold in-house General Manager interview with Dwayne Joseph

One of the more respected executives in the NFL is getting his shot at auditioning for the Raiders General Manger job. And they needed only to have him walk down the hall.

It’s Raiders Director of Pro Personnel Dwayne Joseph getting the next look for the team’s open GM job according to USA Today’s Mike Jones.

Joseph is a former NFL cornerback who has been a pro scout for two decades. He has the requisite experience to put him up there with several of the other GM candidates the Raiders have had in for interviews.

Others to interview for the job or are expected to do so include Trey Brown, Ed Dodds, Champ Kelly, and Dave Ziegler.

The Raiders also need a head coach. The interviews for that position should heat up once the GM is in place. And clearly the team is still actively seeking interviews for that position.

Relax, this is exactly how Raiders head coach hiring process should go

Why have not heard of many Raiders head coach interviews? Relax, this is how it should go

In the social media age, things move pretty quickly. The new cycle turns over several times. Sometimes in a matter of minutes. And in so doing, hours can feel like days and days can feel like weeks. You find yourself wondering why everything is taking so long. Then if you actually stop and think about it, you realize it really hasn’t been that long.

The NFL offseason can certainly feel like that. For instance, when the Raiders season ended last month, we…oh, sorry, I’m seeing here the Raiders season ended a week ago. Literally a week ago today.

So, anyway, why haven’t they decided on a head coach yet? Is Rich Bisaccia coming back as head coach? Is there any truth to the Jim Harbaugh rumors? Why hasn’t he interviewed for the job yet? If not him, where are all the names of other candidates coming in to interview? WHAT’S HAPPENING?!

Relax. Take a breath. First things first.

What of a General Manager? They need one of those too. I know it seems like two weeks ago that Mike Mayock was fired, but in reality, it was five days ago. And unlike when he was hired, there are actually multiple legitimate candidates coming in to interview for the job.

The Raiders have interviewed three candidates and at least one more is reportedly expected. All are established NFL player personnel executives, which should be music to your ears if you’re a Raiders fan.

Also promising should be that it at least appears as if the focus is on hiring a GM prior to holding most of the interviews with outside head coach candidates. That’s great because the new GM should be in on those interviews.

Mayock was hired with Jon Gruden already in place. And thus it was clear Gruden would have the final say in all matters, including the draft, which was Mayock’s specialty. That led to a great many bad signings and trades as well as blown picks atop the draft.

So, let the Raiders do their interviews with GM candidates. And hope that means they hire one before turning their attention to the head coaching position.

Also, consider that some of the top head coach candidates out there are on coaching staffs that are still in the playoffs. So, if the Raiders were to rush the head coaching hire, they could miss out on some good coaches.

Some head coach candidates still with playoff teams include Bills OC Brian Daboll, Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy, Buccaneers OC Byron Leftwich, and Rams DC Raheem Morris.

So, again, relax. I know it’s hard. We all want to know right now who the next head coach or GM will be because it factors into so many things. But the process can’t be too rushed. It needs to happen quickly, no doubt. But more important to get it right.

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Raiders interviewing potential General Manager candidates

Could Mike Mayock be on his way out? Raiders interviewing potential GM candidates suggests he could be

There could be some major turnover in the Raiders organization this offseason very soon. The immediate discussion has been with regard to whether the Raiders will bring back Interim Head Coach Rich Bisaccia or hire someone from outside the organization. But it may not stop at head coach.

While the team is interviewing head coach candidates, they are also seeking interviews with General Manager candidates as well according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The current GM in Las Vegas is Mike Mayock. He was brought in three years ago as former head coach Jon Gruden’s choice for the job.

The draft guru’s tenure has been known for poor selections in the top two rounds, but some great finds in the later rounds.

Among those high pick duds have included fourth overall pick DE Clelin Ferrell and CB Damon Arnette. Top pick Henry Ruggs III is in jail awaiting trial for a fatal DUI crash and last year’s first round pick Alex Leatherwood had a rough rookie season as well.

Those duds have been offset somewhat by finds like CB Nate Hobbs (Round five), WR Hunter Renfrow (Round five), and DE Maxx Crosby (Round four).

Then again a GM’s job is about a lot more than just he draft. The Raiders will get a look at these GM candidates to see if they have the requisite experience for the job.