Jon Gruden has found the man to help him figure out what to do with all those draft picks.
The Oakland Raiders announced Monday that they have hired Mike Mayock to be their next general manager, according to ESPN. Mayock will take the place of Reggie McKenzie, who Gruden fired unceremoniously earlier in the season.
Mayock, like Gruden before him, will go straight from the TV broadcasting world to the sidelines. Mayock has been the NFL Network’s main authority for the draft for several years, offering mock drafts and in-depth analysis on dozens of prospects each year.
“He loves it,” Gruden told ESPN. “He has done it for a long time. I know he has had opportunities to get back into the NFL as a general manager. We will see what happens. We will see how the dust settles.”
Mayock has never worked in an NFL front office, similarly to John Lynch, who left the broadcast booth to be the San Francisco 49ers’ GM in 2017. Luckily for him (or not?), he will likely cede all final decisions to Gruden, who has as much power as anyone in the NFL after signing a 10-year, $100 million deal last year.
Former Giants GM Jerry Reese turned down the opportunity to interview for the position, wanting nothing to do with Oakland’s complicated power structure under Gruden.
The Raiders plan is clearly to rebuild through the draft. They have three first-round draft picks this year following the Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper trades, including the fourth overall selection after finishing 4-12 in Gruden’s inaugural season.
For Gruden, Mayock may be the perfect combination of draft expertise and a lack of high-profile experience. He’ll offer plenty of insight on the players coming out of college, but doesn’t have the resume to put up a fuss when Gruden ultimately does whatever he wants at the end of the day.