RAIDERS HIRE FORMER CHARGERS GM TOM TELESCO AS THEIR NEW GENERAL MANAGER
The Las Vegas Raiders have hired former Los Angeles Chargers General Manager Tom Telesco as their new GM, the team confirmed late Tuesday night.
Telesco, who built one of the more talented rosters in the league over the last decade for the Raiders’ AFC West rivals, was fired in December alongside Head Coach Brandon Staley after the Chargers went 5-9 to start the season. A dark horse candidate among the finalists for the available General Manager position in Las Vegas, Telesco was a surprise hire. Just less than three months after parting ways with his former team, he’s now back in the division.
The 51-year-old spent over a decade in the Chargers’ front office and has had a close look at the Raiders’ roster twice already this year, which should make for a smooth transition. Previously a Vice president of football operations for the Indianapolis Colts, Telesco is set to bring a wealth of experience for the team’s first-time head coach, Antonio Pierce.
Telesco began his NFL career in 1995 as a scouting assistant for the Carolina Panthers, serving two seasons in that role before becoming an area scout in 1997. The former St. Francis High School alumnus would only stay in that role for a year before moving on to the Colts, where it took him just three years to be promoted to Pro Scout.
The New York native spent 15 seasons with the Indianapolis Colts between 1998 and 2012, touching nearly every aspect of the scouting tree including Director of pro scouting, and director of player personnel before being promoted to Vice president of football operations. Telesco held that job for a year before he was chosen by Chargers’ president Dean Spanos as the team’s new general manager.
Ironically, Telesco’s last game as the General Manager for the Chargers was a 63-21 record-breaking loss to Antonio Pierce and the Las Vegas Raiders, the last straw for Chargers’ owner Dean Spanos. Pierce was just announced as the official Raiders’ head coach on Friday last week.
The new hire means three of the five general manager positions that were available at the end of the regular season are now officially filled with the Raiders going after the Washington Commanders and Carolina Panthers, who hired Adam Peters and Dan Morgan respectively.
The Raiders are still searching for members to add to their coaching staff, however, especially on the offensive side. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported on Tuesday that the team is set to interview a few more coaches this week, including former Cleveland Browns offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and former Chicago Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy.
Getsy was let go by the Bears this month in a mass exodus of the offensive coaching staff in Chicago by head coach Matt Eberflus. The 39-year-old’s Bears’ offense ranked first and second in rushing respectively in the two seasons he called plays, a record that should bode well for the Raiders if he wins the job considering the backfield talent of former league rushing leader Josh Jacobs.
Las Vegas will also interview Steelers quarterbacks coach, Mike Sullivan, this week. The 56-year-old has been calling plays on offense in Pittsburgh since the team fired offensive coordinator Matt Canada in November. Sullivan steadied the ship offensively, helping guide the Steelers to a 4-3 record to end the year, including an impressive 3 straight wins, which helped Pittsburgh punch their ticket into the playoffs. Sullivan was also an assistant on Tom Coughlin’s staff on the New York Giants while Antonio Pierce captained the defense.
-Maher Abucheri
Twitter: @pabloikonyero
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