Raiders Rumors: Champ Kelly, Dave Ziegler to Interview for GM Job After Mayock Firing
January 19, 2022
The Las Vegas Raiders are reportedly planning to interview Chicago Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly and New England Patriots director of player personnel Dave Ziegler this week for their vacant general manager position.
According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Kelly will interview Thursday, and Ziegler's interview will take place Friday.
The Raiders fired Mike Mayock on Monday after he spent three seasons as the team's GM.
Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden were both hired in 2018, but Gruden resigned during the 2021 season after emails were leaked that showed him using racist, misogynistic and anti-gay language.
Rich Bisaccia replaced Gruden on an interim basis, led the Raiders to a 7-5 record and helped them reach the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
The Raiders fell 26-19 to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Wild Card Round last weekend.
Overall, the Raiders went 25-24 in Mayock's three seasons at the helm with no AFC West division titles.
Kelly played college football at the University of Kentucky before embarking on an NFL front office career in 2007.
He was with the Denver Broncos in a multitude of roles from 2007 to '14, including college scout, assistant coordinator of pro and college scouting and assistant director of pro personnel.
Kelly joined the Bears as director of pro scouting in 2015 and served in that role through 2016 before getting promoted to assistant director of player personnel in 2017.
Over the past few years, Kelly has earned GM interviews with the New York Jets, Atlanta Falcons and Broncos.
Rapoport referred to Ziegler as the Patriots' de facto GM, although he has never been given that title specifically.
Ziegler spent three seasons in the scouting department with the Broncos before joining the Patriots and spending the past nine years in the organization.
In New England, Ziegler went from assistant director of pro scouting to director of pro personnel to assistant director of player personnel and finally director of player personnel in 2021.
Ziegler played a big role in helping quickly rebuild the Patriots after quarterback Tom Brady's departure, getting them back to the playoffs this season after missing out in 2020.
The Raiders job figures to be a desirable one for potential GM candidates, as they are coming off a playoff season and have no shortage of talent on both sides of the ball.
The biggest immediate decision for whomever the Raiders hire may be whether to move forward with Derek Carr as the starting quarterback.