A devastating blowout loss to the Raiders got G.M. Tom Telesco fired by the Chargers. Now, Telesco has been hired by the Raiders.
The move defies the trend. Usually, General Managers get one shot. Once their time runs out with one team, they typically don’t land with another team.
We made the point last year that it’s usually one and done. As G.M. jobs were being filled, former General Managers were getting no consideration.
Former Falcons G.M. Thomas Dimitroff, who built a consistent winner in Atlanta over more than a decade, never gets mentioned. Former Giants G.M. Jerry Reese, who was a two-time Super Bowl winner, has disappeared. Former Texans G.M. Rick Smith, who built a contender in Houston, never got another chance. Former Chiefs G.M. Scott Pioli, who won the Executive of the Year award multiple times with the Patriots, has never been seriously mentioned for G.M. jobs. Former Vikings G.M. Rick Spielman, who drafted and developed and held together talented teams for nearly a generation in Minnesota, resurfaced this year not as a candidate to be G.M. of the Commanders but as someone who is consulting in the search for a G.M. and a head coach.
There are exceptions to the once-and-only-once G.M. approach. Dave Gettleman and Martin Mayhew, for instance. And now Telesco.
Making Telesco’s second act even more unusual is the fact that it happened in the very next hiring cycle. That gives the Raiders the benefit of all the work Telesco had done with the Chargers, in preparation for free agency and the draft.
Really, that’s the best time to hire a fired G.M. The G.M. has already been working as a G.M. in advance of the next round of player procurement.
Given that reasoning, maybe the Chargers should be looking at Scott Fitterer.