5 craziest storylines of the Raiders last five years
By Brad Weiss
4. Revolving door at the Raiders GM position
From 2012 through the 2018 NFL season, the Raiders franchise had some stability at the general manager position. Reggie McKenzie had some great moments as the GM of the Raiders franchise, building a team through free agency and the draft that led them to their first playoff appearance since the 2002 campaign.
Unfortunately for McKenzie, he was let go after the 2018 season, and replaced by television personality, Mike Mayock. The thought was that Mayock knew enough about the game, especially the NFL Draft, that he could turn the Raiders into a perennial winner, and the team did have a winning record with him at the helm.
In fact, he was fired after the Raiders' first playoff appearance since the 2016 NFL season, a stunning move that led to the arrival of Dave Ziegler in the role. Ziegler, along with his New England counterpart, head coach Josh McDaniels, wanted to bring the Patriots Way to the desert, something that never happened.
The arrival of Ziegler and McDaniels was met with great joy, but it became evident quickly that this duo would not be around for long. During the 2023 NFL season, Ziegler and McDaniels were fired on Halloween night, clearing the way for Champ Kelly to be named interim general manager.
Despite the Raiders playing well down the stretch, and Kelly doing a nice job with the roster, the team decided to bring in Tom Telesco in the role this offseason. Hopefully, Telesco can succeed for the Raiders, build up the roster, and bring stability back to the general manager position.