Been a busy offseason so far
The Las Vegas Raiders are starting a new era as head coach Pete Carroll and general manager John Spytek has taken over the franchise.
Let’s look some winners and losers of the Raiders’ offseason so far:
WINNERS
Mark Davis:
The Raiders owner has hired six head coaches and five general managers and has hired three of each in the past three years. He badly needs stability. It seems that may be happening as Davis has allowed new part owners, led by Tom Brady, take major roles in the hiring process. Candidates have noticed and several new hires in Las Vegas have mentioned how important Brady’s role has been in them joining the organization. The Raiders will not constantly until they show they are a stable organization. Davis allowing the other owners to flex their muscle is a good step toward achieving franchise stability,
Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images
Raiders’ defensive free agents:
The Raiders have several starting defensive players who are set to be free agents. Now that the team is retaining defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, the probability of free agents such as linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo, safeties Tre’von Moehrig and Marcus Epps, cornerback Nate Hobbs, pass-rusher Malcolm Koonce and defensive tackles John Jenkins and Adam Butler returning has increased. They likely won’t all come back, but with Graham and his system returning, expect the Raiders, who are flush in salary-cap room, to bring back several of his players.
The fan base:
Raiders fans have suffered with all of this turnover and flux in the organization. The new regime looks like it has a chance to be here for a while and finally set a foundation. Now, winning right away is not guaranteed. But the team can become stable and all on the same page, that is an important step that fans can feel good about.
LOSERS
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Aidan O’Connell:
Fired head coach Antonio Pierce was a believer in O’Connell. The new staff will likely look at him with an open mind, but will probably bring in a veteran and draft a quarterback. O’Connell best hope to be give a chance to compete, but he probably won’t enter training camp as the favorite.
Tom Telesco:
Minutes after Pierce was fired, multiple reports stated Telesco would be retained as the general manager, Davis hinted that would be the case in December. Yet, two days later, Telesco was out less than a full year on the job. Ownership decided that they would open the GM job to attract a top coaching candidate such as Ben Johnson. The Raiders saw Johnson go to Chicago. The truth is, Carroll probably would have been fine with working with Telesco. Yet, Telesco appeared to be collateral damage.
Ricky Manning Jr.:
There was speculation that the cornerbacks coach would return under Graham because he had history on Carroll’s staff in Seattle. yet, ESPN has reported Manning will not be retained.