A year ago, the Raiders went an unconventional route by hiring a head coach from the TV booth. Now they’ve reportedly hired a general manager from the NFL Network.
According to multiple reports Monday morning, the Raiders have hired Mike Mayock, a longtime draft analyst for the NFL Network, as GM to replace the fired Reggie McKenzie. Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden, who came aboard for his second stint with the team after becoming a broadcast analyst, will now be the team’s braintrust charged with transforming the roster. After a 4-12 season, the Raiders have multiple weak spots, so there is much work to be done.
After the Raiders’ season-ending, 35-3 loss to the AFC West-champion Chiefs in Kansas City Sunday, Gruden told reporters that Mayock is a “passionate personnel man” and talent evaluator.
“He loves it,” Gruden said, according to ESPN. “He has done it for a long time. I know he has had opportunities to get back into the NFL as a general manager. We will see what happens. We will see how the dust settles.”
The Raiders are expected to make an official announcement on the hiring as soon as Monday.
The Raiders will go into the offseason with plenty of opportunities to upgrade in the NFL draft. The Raiders will pick fourth overall, plus have two late first-round picks from the Bears and Cowboys for the trades of Kahlil Mack and Amari Cooper. Both Chicago and Dallas made the playoffs (unfortunately for the Raiders), so those picks aren’t as valuable as the team hoped.
Mayock, 60, is expected to take a complementary role with Gruden, but not be above him on the team’s organizational chart. Mayock, a defensive back at Boston College, played two seasons for the New York Giants and also played in the Canadian Football League before becoming a broadcaster and draft analyst.
