Raiders 2025: Explaining full house cleaning in Las Vegas

We’re going to find out exactly how big a voice Tom Brady has with owner Mark Davis

Waxing head coach Antonio Pierce on Tuesday afternoon. And then firing general manager Tom Telesco Thursday morning.

Las Vegas Raiders owner Mark Davis operates on Mark Davis Time. That’s for sure.

In an awkward sequence filled with contentious timing, the Silver & Black have made a drastic pivot with a full house cleaning that’ll see the team land a new head coach and general manager this offseason.

“The Las Vegas Raiders have relieved Tom Telesco of his duties as General Manager,” the team said in statement. “We appreciate his efforts in helping build a foundation for the future. We wish Tom and his family all the best.”

It’s admirable the Raiders didn’t prop up Telesco behind a podium to talk the Pierce dismissal. Because less than 48 hours later, he’s out as general manager in Las Vegas. But it’s two separate moves that could’ve (or even should’ve) happened on the same day together … but I digress.

Now, the Silver & Black expedition to land a new head coach expands to finding a new GM too. Las Vegas is making traction on the head coach front with candidates slated to speak with the team on the vacancy. Based on the front office shift, one can infer the Raiders want to bring in a new head coach and general manager to come in and work together at the same time. Telesco joined Las Vegas as GM after Pierce was named the head coach.

And we’re experiencing the initial stages of how big a voice Raiders minority owner Tom Brady has with Davis.

Before I expand on that, let’s touch on this interesting report from NFL insider Ian Rapoport:

Telesco did have a good initial (and only) class from the 2024 NFL Draft.

The Raiders boast a record-setting tight end in Brock Bowers, an anchor-type center in Jackson Powers-Johnson, and a starting right tackle in D.J. Glaze the first three rounds. Lament on Bowers falling in Telesco’s lap all you want, but he still had to make the decision to draft the supremely talented Georgia Bulldog.

But it’s what Rapaport said that Telesco was excluded from the current head coach search that’s telling. As Rapaport noted, that is indeed alarming as the organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry is paving the way on the search.

Just like Pierce, though, Telesco had his own missteps. The largest was signing Gardner Minshew (on a two-year $25 million contract) to compete at quarterback. Minshew Mania became Turnover Mania and the veteran was one hell of a face plant flop in free agency. Pierce was adamant he didn’t want a “Band-Aid” at quarterback and instead wanted a face of the franchise type. In the end, second-year quarterback Aidan O’Connell finished as the starter.

Alas, with Pierce and Telesco one-and-done, the Raiders offer a clean slate for the next hires.

Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t

Davis’ culpability in all this is obvious. He’s the owner and ultimate arbiter when all is said and done.

Much like how Pierce struggled to create an identity for his team, Davis is struggling to establish his own identity. His father Al Davis established the Commitment to Excellence and maverick-style ownership. Say what you will about Al towards to tail end of his tenure but he had aura.

The vibe from Mark is he wants to win, but the results have been horrendous. It’s a classic damned if you do, damned if you don’t situation. Whether he’s sought counsel or gone on his own from hiring Jack Del Rio, Jon Gruden, Josh McDaniels, and Pierce as head coaches for his football team, its flopped.

While I do applaud him for admitting he isn’t anywhere near the football mind of his father and he isn’t as meddlesome, Davis’ trust in search committees and advisors hasn’t been fruitful during his tenure as owner. But while there will be eventual churn at the head coach and general manager positions, Davis is entrenched as owner and hasn’t shown any interest in selling. Thus, while we can point out the owner’s shortfalls, he isn’t going any where anytime soon.

And, perhaps, Brady’s presence as minority owner steers the Silver & Black Pearl into more bountiful waters.

Brady’s Bunch

As ESPN’s Adam Schefter inferred above, the clean slate in Las Vegas is for the sake of making the gigs in the desert more appealing to prospective candidates.

Most other openings can’t offer a situation where a top coaching candidate can bring in a general manager they prefer — which should give Davis and Brady a leg up.

We’re beginning to see Brady’s impact in team decision making — something Davis himself said was going to happen — and we’re about to find out how much pull Tom Terrific has in this latest hiring cycle.

I doubt highly-sought candidates like the Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, or Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn take their slated virtual interviews with the Raiders if it weren’t for Brady’s presence, for example.

The Raiders still have a glaring need at the all-important quarterback position. And that’s highly likely the top priority for the eventual head coach and general manager combination. (It’d be very troubling if it isn’t).

Brady is one of the best all-time signal callers the NFL produced and he can help in that regard.

We’ll find out if Brady can become a great executive, too.