According to the Associated Press on Thursday, the Las Vegas Raiders have fired general manager Tom Telesco of Buffalo, New York. Telesco had been the Raiders general manager for just under a year as he was initially hired on January 23, 2024.
In 2024, the Raiders struggled mightily. They had a record of four wins and 13 losses. That was the fourth worst record in the National Football League. Three teams combined for the worst team in the NFL. Those at 3-14 were the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and Tennessee Titans.
The Raiders had the sixth worst points for and against ratio in the NFL at -125. They scored the fourth fewest points in the NFL with 309. The only three teams that scored fewer points this season were the New England Patriots (289), the New York Giants (273), and the Cleveland Browns (258).
There is growing speculation that former NFL star quarterback Tom Brady was behind the firing according to heavy.com. Brady was named part owner of the Raiders in October and owns 5% of the team. There is a belief that the Raiders want a head coach and general manager that have the same philosophical approach when it comes to strategy. The Raiders have already fired Antonio Pierce.
One may also wonder if the Raiders will give a lot of the player personnel decisions to the head coach. When the New England Patriots had Brady as their quarterback, Bill Belichick was the Patriots head coach in terms of job title. However he was the de facto general manager as well. He had the final say on player personnel decisions with player personnel director Scott Pioli for a great part of the 2000’s.
