When the Las Vegas Raiders brought John Spytek aboard as their next general manager, I felt that it was perhaps the best hire that the organization has made this century, at least this decade. But that didn't really come through in his first year at the helm of the Silver and Black.
A great deal of those failures, however, can be attributed to his working relationship, or lack thereof, with Pete Carroll, who simply wouldn't buy into a rebuild, influenced too many personnel decisions, and wouldn't play the promising young players that Spytek brought into the building.
And so it is tough for those without knowledge of the situation to fairly allocate the blame in Las Vegas, even though Spytek has clearly impressed this offseason with Klint Kubiak as his running mate, and without being handcuffed to Carroll. That still isn't fully reflected in GM rankings, though.
Las Vegas Raiders' John Spytek checks in at No. 26 in latest NFL GM rankings
NBC Sports' Patrick Daugherty recently ranked every general manager in the NFL, and Spytek came in at No. 26. While that is a slight improvement from where he has been slotted in on other lists, this still feels slightly too low for the Raiders' head of the front office. Here was Daugherty's explanation:
"Being a general manager is hard enough. Now try doing it when you’re in Las Vegas and your boss lives in Florida. Oh, and he has two jobs. That’s John Spytek’s world, as Tom Brady has finally found someone else to haunt beyond the sports talk radio hosts of Boston, for whom it will always be 2019. Maybe Brady is a peach to work for and the whole thing is overblown, but Spytek is working for him. He has to answer to ownership and the game’s pre-eminent living legend. You could see why this thing wasn’t exactly a Ferrari coming out of the garage last season. Spytek is already on his second head coach, as well as his second quarterback. In Spytek, Brady or whomever’s defense, the second choices in Klint Kubiak and Fernando Mendoza seem much better than last year’s Pete Carroll/Geno Smith pairing. Beyond Mendoza, the Silver and Black had a deep, varied 2026 draft class. Inexplicably, they’ve even gotten a second lease on life with disgruntled defensive linchpin Maxx Crosby, as the superstar pass rusher has returned to the team following his Ravens jilting. (A trade remains possible, or even likely.) Rarely will you see a front office get off to a worse start. Even more rare is the steady bounce-back footing the Raiders find themselves on this offseason."
It sounds like the bulk of Daugherty's complaints with Spytek, or perhaps his unwillingness to give Las Vegas' GM credit, is about the perception that working for Brady is not conducive to success. But this argument is flawed in several ways, so let's clear some stuff up.
Spytek and Brady, by all accounts, have a great rapport. They worked together with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and won a Super Bowl, and while that relationship was much different, these two can clearly have success together and share a championship experience and vision.
Plus, Spytek and Brady have been quite clear that the latter is merely a sounding board for the Silver and Black. Yes, he is involved in big-picture decisions, but with the quarterback and head coach already in place in Las Vegas, Brady will be letting Spytek and Klint Kubiak run the day-to-day.
But it is appropriate for Daugherty to acknowledge that the Raiders are looking like a major bounce-back team this season. And the bulk of that credit should go to Spytek for nailing the Kubiak hire and nabbing unbelievable talent in cohesion with the head coach in free agency and the draft.
At the very least, Spytek should be ahead of New York Giants GM Joe Schoen, who is just ahead of him at No. 25. Yes, Schoen just got a mindboggling extension, but it also wouldn't surprise anyone to see him lose his job in the coming months. He's been a failure on all fronts in New York.
Obviously, the Raiders will have to succeed this year, or at least take another step in the right direction, for Spytek to start getting some credit. One 3-14 campaign and an "Offseason Champions" banner aren't going to do much for league-wide credit.
That said, Spytek earned an A- in the NFLPA grades during his inaugural season for a reason, and he was up against it. Now, just think about the right coach being in Las Vegas with a young franchise quarterback. If the future is as bright as it looks, Spytek will fly up these lists in short order.
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