Brought in by Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock has been the Raiders’ top decision-maker since Gruden’s October ouster. While the Raiders may want to start fresh in 2022, Mayock is still in the mix to be part of the equation.
Some optimism exists in the Raiders’ building Mayock will be given a genuine chance to stick as GM, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes (ESPN+ link). This is Mayock’s third year with the Raiders, who hired him on New Year’s Eve 2018 to replace Reggie McKenzie as GM.
While Mayock undoubtedly had significant say during Gruden’s time, the latter made the final calls. Key personnel misfires — from Antonio Brown to Trent Brown to Lamarcus Joyner — preceded the team cutting both its 2020 first-round picks (Henry Ruggs and Damon Arnette) this year. The Gruden-Mayock duo’s initial draft pick, Clelin Ferrell, has not come close to meeting expectations, either.
The team has also gone 23-24 during Mayock’s tenure, though this year’s squad persevering en route to an 8-7 mark is somewhat surprising given the setbacks that have taken place. FiveThirtyEight.com gives the Raiders a 16% chance to qualify for the playoffs, which would be the franchise’s first berth since the McKenzie-Jack Del Rio regime’s 2016 advancement.
Although some outside the Raiders expect them to go forward with a full-scale change, Fowler adds Mark Davis has not made a decision on Mayock yet. The two have maintained a good relationship amid turmoil as well. Davis keeping Gruden’s right-hand man around would certainly be interesting, but the door appears open for the longtime analyst to stay in his current role.
I think that Marcel Reece will have a large influence on the path forward for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Dan Ventrelle and Tom Delaney have each been with the organization for a long time. I understand the concept of “Home Grown” talent, but maybe its time for an outside set of eyes to provide input on football operations.
Couldn’t have said it better.
Nor I.
I’m not even a Raider fan but I loved Reece as a player and I know how highly regarded he is in NFL circles. Getting him involved in righting the Raider ship could end up being a really smart move.
Agreed with the above. Reece was always a rock for that team and was one of the last oldschool fullbacks to not simply be an expendable piece for a modern team. I respected him throughout his playing career. Given all of the turmoil and transitional challenges surrounding Vegas, a long time contributor like Reece would be useful to have on hand.
Keep Mayock. I’d bet a shiny nickel that Gruden was responsible for being too cute with those draft picks, trying to prove he was the smartest guy in the room. I’m not discrediting their drafts entirely because they’ve produced some great players but Ferrell, Arnette and Leatherwood could’ve been had much later. I think Mayock deserves to have a shot at running his own draft after having Chucky looking over his shoulder with the final say the past few years.
I would agree little Davis is trying to show he was smart as daddy. First by hiring Gruden and agreeing to that contract. He IMHO is not a very good coach. He won a SB from another man’s work. He was always messing with Carr too. He was never good enough.
I would agree that Gruden made the calls probably the only reason Mayock is still there. I am no Raider fan but think they should keep him give him a chance to prove himself.
Keep him so we don’t have to read his stupid mock drafts ever again.
This made me chuckle, thank you. And it’s true.
The McKenzie-Jack Del Rio should have never been fired.
fire him and get John Dorsey bro literally built the chiefs and the browns
I’d like to see Mayock given an honest chance. It just feels as if a lot of the decisions were Gruden’s thus far. The draft has been a perennial disaster for the Raiders but has that been Mayock? Hard to say. I’d be for giving the Mayock/Rich combo a full off-season and year to see if it works. If not, blow it up after next year.
That’s pretty much what I think too. Regardless of why he (deservedly) was fired, Gruden has always been a control freak and a domineering personality. If Gruden did indeed have final say in personnel decisions, then you really can’t fault Mayock too much for the mess Gruden left behind. But Mayock likely isn’t blameless either, so I agree that you give him a chance to build things in his own, but also a short leash.
I would agree except the drafts being a disaster. There’s been bad picks but there’s been really great picks. But I also think Gruden is the guy who made most of the picks.
It’s odd and probably not the right way to look at it but if Crosby was the first rounder and Ferrell was the fourth rounder, would it be a bad draft? Factor in that they got Hunter Renfrow in the fifth- I’d say it was a success overall. Same thing with this year. Last year, I would agree was an unmitigated disaster
Mike Mayock was great on the NFL Network.
Might be best for everyone if he went back to that role.
So you’re saying there’s no story…yet. Cool.
I agree that Gruden was most likely responsible for the draft misses, what has Mayock done to show he deserves more leash? The article states that he was hand picked by Gruden which implies that he was chosen to be a yes man. Is that the qualification the Raiders are looking for in a GM? Although the circumstances surrounding Gruden’s firing are murky, this much is clear; the Raiders were handed a gift to get out of that contract. Gruden was going to give them 10 yrs of disappointment. The Raiders should clean house and start over from a management standpoint.
Saying Clelin Ferrell is a bust is like saying Anthony Bennett is a bust. You’re not wrong, but the team that drafted them reached so far that expecting them to play like the spot they were drafted is unrealistic.
Good analogy, I think.
You’re right, Clelin Ferrell is a bust based on where he was drafted. So far he’s been healthy and has contributed to the team on top of being a high character guy. The problem is obviously that a top 5 pick needs to be a high impact player, not just a good locker room presence. The Raiders could’ve moved down into the late teens, 20’s or even possibly into the 2nd round and got him. The question that needs to be answered is who was behind the lack of finding the impact player and failing to move down and acquire more draft capital.