Raiders expected to turn to former division rival for GM role

The Las Vegas Raiders have their head coach in Antonio Pierce. Now it seems they have their general manager to help build the roster.

According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport on Tuesday, the Raiders are expected to hire former Los Angeles Chargers general manager Tom Telesco to run their front office. Telesco would satisfy owner Mark Davis' desire to have an experienced personnel person to build the roster for his first-time head coach. 

While Telesco brings plenty of NFL experience, it is worth asking if that experience is necessarily good.

Telesco ran the Chargers front office for 11 years and drafted some good individual players, including quarterback Justin Herbert, Keenan Allen, Joey Bosa and Derwin James. But while the individual talent always seemed strong on paper, the results never matched up on the field or in the standings. The Chargers were 84-92 in Telesco's time as general manager, making the playoffs just three times. They won only two playoff games despite consistently having top-tier quarterback play with Phillip Rivers and Herbert. 

The Raiders underwent major personnel changes this season by firing head coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Dave Ziegler. 

While they may not have been the right people for the job, the biggest problem for the Raiders has been the common denominator in all of their recent failings. That common denominator has been Davis. He has hired the wrong people on the sidelines and in the front office, producing a revolving door of head coaches and general managers over the past decade. 

Pierce had a strong showing as interim coach after taking over for McDaniels and won over the players in the locker room. Sticking with him was certainly a popular move. Time will tell if making him the full-time coach and hiring Telesco to help him construct the roster will be the right moves.