Mike

Mayock

Hired straight from the T.V. in Dec. 2018, Mayock was an abject disaster his three years in the Raiders’ front office. In Mayock’s defense, it was hard to know where he began and disgraced ex-coach Jon Gruden ended, but together, the duo oversaw impossibly bad drafts and embarked on harebrained rebuilds, none more head-scratching than last spring’s offensive line overhaul. Mayock appeared to have no idea what really mattered in the draft, seemingly placing immense value on peripheral qualities like team captainship. Mayock and Gruden squandered a truly immense amount of draft capital. Stupefyingly, only three of the five first-round picks Mayock made even remain on the 53-man roster. Two of the others, OT Alex Leatherwood and DL Clelin Ferrell, are certified busts. The fifth is a running back. It would have been interesting to see what Mayock did without Gruden driving the bus, but the Raiders are understandably keen to try something different. 63-year-old Mayock figures to immediately head back to television.

Mayock, 62, was fully vaccinated and said he feels “very good” at the moment. He’ll quarantine for his 10-plus days and then return to the Raiders’ headquarters.

That did not take long. Mayock was floated as a “strong candidate” for the job on Sunday, and the deal was apparently done by Monday morning. It is not clear if the Raiders even interviewed anyone else for the job. A former defensive back who spent two seasons in the league, Mayock made his name as an engaging and informative draft analyst, but he has zero front office experience, although he did interview for this same job once when Al Davis was still around. With Mayock on board, the Raiders’ power structure consists of two people who have spent the majority of the last decade in T.V. studios rather than in the league. It will be interesting, to say the least, to see how that works out.