Next Las Vegas Raiders coach, GM has a lot to figure out

HENDERSON, Nev. — With last week’s firings of Tom Telesco and Antonio Pierce, the Las Vegas Raiders have openings at general manager and head coach for the second time in as many years and the third time since 2022.

The new X-factor, however, is the presence of minority owner Tom Brady and the influence he can have with owner Mark Davis in the decision-making process when it comes to a new GM and coaching combination in Sin City.

So let the games and name calling begin…

Speculation is rife when it comes to who will replace Pierce as coach. The likes of Detroit Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn have already been linked to the opening.

Same with Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Liam Coen, Kansas City Chiefs defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Todd Monken and former New York Jets coach Robert Saleh.

And that’s not counting old school names like Pete Carroll and Jon Gruden, who coached the Raiders from 2018-21. Gruden resigned following the leak of emails he wrote over a 10-year period, which included racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language.

The names of potential GM candidates have been slow to filter out.

The lists will certainly grow, but whoever is nabbed by Davis (and Brady?) to be the team’s fifth GM (Mike Mayock, Dave Ziegler, Champ Kelly, Telesco) and fifth coach (Gruden, Rich Bisaccia, Josh McDaniels, Pierce ), since the franchise moved from Oakland to Las Vegas in 2020, they will face a ton of pros and cons.

On the pro side: The Raiders have the sixth overall draft pick and an extra third-rounder, thanks to the Davante Adams trade to the Jets, giving the new GM eight picks to continue building the roster.

Last spring, Telesco took three top picks – Brock Bowers, who became just the fourth rookie tight end to be named first-team All-Pro, and a pair of starters on the offensive line in left guard/center Jackson Powers-Johnson and right tackle D.J. Glaze.

The Raiders have $107.3 million in salary cap space, the second most in the NFL, according to OverTheCap.com. Something else to entice a GM and coach, as well as free agents: Nevada has no state income tax.

Having just moved to Nevada five years ago, the Raiders also boast what Bill Belichick called the “Taj Mahal” of NFL facilities when he brought his New England Patriots to the desert for joint practices a few years ago. Allegiant Stadium is a world-class stadium with all the amenities and equipment you would expect from Vegas.

Roster-wise, the Raiders have two solid foundation players in Bowers, who set the NFL record for most receptions in a season by a rookie with his 112-catch campaign, and four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby.

Defensive tackle Christian Wilkins will also return from a Jones fracture in his left foot, and receiver Jakobi Meyers just posted the first 1,000-yard receiving season of his six-year career.

So it’s not like the guard is completely devoid of talent.

And yet a new coach is likely looking at a total rebuild in an AFC West division that boasts coach-quarterback combinations like Andy Reid-Patrick Mahomes with the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Chiefs, Jim Harbaugh-Justin Herbert with Los Angeles. Chargers and Sean Payton-Bo Nix with the Denver Broncos.

Sure, second-year signal caller Aidan O’Connell proved himself as a serviceable spot starter, but an upgrade at quarterback is needed. Again.

Consider: Derek Carr was the Raiders’ undisputed starter from 2014 until he was benched with two games to play in the 2022 season. Since then, Jarrett Stidham, Jimmy Garoppolo, O’Connell, Brian Hoyer, Gardner Minshew and Desmond Ridder have all started at quarterback.

The list was thin to begin with. According to the Raiders, 31.8% of their Week 1 starters spent time on injured reserve, tied for the highest mark in the league. So 37.6% of the team’s snaps were played by first- or second-year players, the third-highest mark in the NFL. And with an average age of 25 years, 344 days, it was the second-youngest roster in the league.

Still, the Raiders went just 4-13, and with so many pending free agents, there are more questions than answers. Especially on the defensive side.

These players are all slated to hit free agency: edge rushers Malcolm Koonce (who was lost for the season three days before the opener with a torn ACL suffered in practice) and K’Lavon Chaisson, defensive tackles Adam Butler and John Jenkins, linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo, slot cornerback Nate Hobbs and safeties Marcus Epps and Tre’von Moehrig.

In addition, the contract of defensive coordinator Patrick Graham, who had the unit as the No. 10-ranked total defense entering the finals.

No, the closet is not bare in Las Vegas. And yet the challenge of rebuilding is as real as it gets.