Pressed into a prominent role after the forced resignation of coach Jon Gruden, Raiders G.M. Mike Mayock stabilized the situation and provided much of the leadership that helped propel the team to a highly unlikely playoff berth.
Mayock’s reward wasn’t simply to be fired, but to have his departure handled in a clunky, clumsy way by owner Mark Davis. The man who inherited the team from his father surely has a perfectly good explanation for allowing word of requests to interview replacements to emerge before the firing of Mayock was announced. Whatever that explanation may be, it doesn’t change the fact that it happened — and that it shouldn’t have.
Even if Mayock knew his fate before he saw tweets regarding the team’s interest in Patriots executive Dave Ziegler and Colts assistant G.M. Ed Dodds, the fact that fans and media spent an hour or so on Monday afternoon saying, “What the f–k?” is an outcome Mayock didn’t deserve. Indeed, no G.M. deserves that.
The move strongly suggests that interim coach Rich Bisaccia won’t be getting the permanent job. The new G.M. will either hire the next coach, or Davis will hire a package deal at the two main positions. With plenty of players wanting Bisaccia, the transition may not go smoothly.
At some point, it would be useful for Davis to explain his plans to the fans. The plan could be that he has no plan, which based on how the plan for firing Mayock and launching the search for his replacement unfolded may be the case.
The situation in Las Vegas underscores the compelling disconnect between multi-billion-dollar football operations and the monarchies that run them. Mark Davis is qualified to own and operate the Raiders by DNA, and nothing more. He has done little over a decade of running the team to show that he can do it at a high level, beyond stumbling into a golden opportunity to move to Las Vegas after Plan A (a return to L.A.) fell apart. Gruden, the signature hire of the Davis tenure, had three meh years before 2021 got off to a great start, until it didn’t.
With Gruden (who had a 10-year contract) now gone, Davis has a big move to make. Which means he first has to figure out his next move. While it’s unclear where Davis will go from here, it is clear that one of the men who had to deal with the aftermath of Gruden’s mess is gone, and that the other one, Bisaccia, likely will be next.
Clumsy Mike Mayock firing doesn’t bode well for Rich Bisaccia or the Raiders originally appeared on Pro Football Talk