Tom Telesco’s delayed sacking suggests he has been fired for the next coach

On Tuesday, the Raiders fired coach Antonio Pierce, but not GM Tom Telesco. Two days after the coaching search, the Raiders fired Telesco.

The conventional wisdom in NFL circles is that Telesco was fired to make way for the next coach to hire his own personnel director.

Did Telesco deserve to be fired after a year? On the one hand, the team’s quarterback plan for 2024 was subpar at best. Telesco added Gardner Minshew to a two-year, $25 million contract. Telesco apparently hoped to draft a quarterback in the first round, with the 13th pick overall. He didn’t know that six quarterbacks would be taken in the first 12 selections.

On the other hand, Telesco drafted generational tight end Brock Bowers at that spot. Bowers had a record rookie season, despite subpar quarterback play.

The impatient move has led some to conclude that minority owner Tom Brady is running the show and is determined to find the absolute best candidate to turn the team around. Even if it means paying Telesco roughly $12 million for a year on the job.

Going forward, how much money will owner Mark Davis invest in efforts to hire the best of the best? As one source noted, a series of recent acquisitions (from Jon Gruden to Josh McDaniels to Dave Ziegler to Antonio Pierce to Telesco) has turned the Las Vegas Raiders into the new Cleveland Browns.

For that reason, some think the Raiders won’t end up looking for North Carolina coach Bill Belichick, given the $10 million buyout that won’t drop to $1 million until June 1, 2025. Unless Belichick or Brady (who received a hefty contract for purchase his part of the team) will pay for it himself, some think Davis would never agree to give up that kind of money for the privilege of financing a buyout — and then pay him whatever he wants to take the job.

If not Belichick, maybe it’s a Hail Mary play to pry Mike Vrabel away from the Patriots. Or maybe the way is opening for someone else.

Regardless, something happened between Tuesday and Thursday. If it wasn’t good, old-fashioned dysfunction (and maybe it was), it was very strategic.