Paul Gutierrez, ESPN Staff WriterJan 9, 2025, 02:04 PM ET
- Paul Gutierrez joined NFL Nation in 2013 and serves as its Las Vegas Raiders reporter. He has a multi-platform role - writing on ESPN.com, television appearances on NFL Live and SportsCenter, and podcast and radio appearances. Before coming to ESPN, Gutierrez spent three years at CSN Bay Area as a multi-platform reporter, covering the Raiders and Oakland Athletics as well as anchoring the SportsNet Central cable news show. Gutierrez votes for the Baseball Hall of Fame and is also a member of the Professional Football Writers of America and currently serves as the PFWA's Las Vegas chapter president. He is also a member of the California Chicano News Media Association and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Gutierrez has authored three books: Tommy Davis' Tales from the Dodgers Dugout, 100 Things Raiders Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die and If These Walls Could Talk: Stories from the Raiders Sideline, Locker Room and Press Box with Lincoln Kennedy. You can follow Paul on Twitter @PGutierrezESPN
HENDERSON, Nev. -- The Las Vegas Raiders have fired general manager Tom Telesco after one season, the team announced Thursday.
The move comes two days after the team fired coach Antonio Pierce after his first full season as the team's coach.
"We appreciate [Telesco's] efforts in helping build a foundation for the future. We wish Tom and his family all the best," the team said in a statement.
The Raiders finished 4-13 this season, hampered by an unsettled quarterback situation. Telesco signed Gardner Minshew, giving him a two-year, $25 million contract with $15 million guaranteed. Minshew began the season as the starter but was benched in favor of Aidan O'Connell after five games. Both Minshew and O'Connell dealt with injuries during the season, forcing the team to also start Desmond Ridder.
The Raiders hired Telesco, 52, last January, doing so less than six weeks after he and coach Brandon Staley were fired by the Los Angeles Chargers following a 63-21 loss to Las Vegas.
Telesco, hired in part for his success in drafting, nailed the Raiders' top three picks last spring.
He went with the best player available, rather than picking to fill a need, with the No. 13 pick and selected tight end Brock Bowers, who set an NFL rookie single-season receiving record with 112 catches and was named to the Pro Bowl.
In the second round, Telesco drafted offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson, who started games at left guard and at center.
And in the third round, Telesco took DJ Glaze, who settled into a starting role at right tackle, which had been the Raiders' top position of need entering the draft.
Injuries wreaked havoc with the Raiders' roster this season as, per the team, 31.8% of Las Vegas' Week 1 starters spent time on injured reserve (tied for the highest percentage in the league) and, with the second-youngest roster in the NFL (average age was 25 years, 344 days), 37.6% of the snaps played were by first- or second-year players (the third-highest mark in the league).
The Raiders, under Telesco and Pierce, endured a 10-game losing streak, their longest skid since opening the 2014 season 0-10.
Las Vegas also went 0-6 against the AFC West for the first time since 2006.
The new GM-coach combo will inherit the No. 6 pick as well as an additional third-round draft choice from the New York Jets as part of the Davante Adams trade.
The new GM and coach will presumably work with new Raiders minority owners Tom Brady and Richard Seymour, both of whom bought into the franchise, owned by Mark Davis, in the fall.
Also, the Raiders' new GM is projected to have $107.3 million in salary cap space and a slew of decisions to make on in-house free agents, including edge rushers K'Lavon Chaisson and Malcolm Koonce, linebackers Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo, cornerback Nate Hobbs, safeties Marcus Epps and Tre'von Moehrig, and running backs Alexander Mattison and Ameer Abdullah.
