Are the Raiders a 'Healthy' Franchise? Pt. 2

A well-respected NFL executive told our Hondo Carpenter Sr. the five key things that you judge to know if your franchise is healthy. This series, a Raider's Today exclusive, is a look into how the Las Vegas Raiders fit within those five indicators.

Feb 27, 2024; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Las Vegas Raiders general manager Tom Telesco talks to the media at the 2024 NFL Combine at Indiana Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports / Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Recently, our Las Vegas Raiders beat writer Hondo Carpenter Sr. and his wife, Shannon, had dinner with a widely respected NFL executive. That dinner revealed a fascinating revelation.

The executive told Carpenter what he considered the five indicators of a healthy franchise: stability in ownership, stability in management, stability in coaching, unity throughout the organization and a clear vision of the franchise's future, and the right roster.

Carpenter said the Raiders checked the box when it came to stable ownership from Mark Davis. He said that in his five years with the Raiders, they have not met the ideal of stability in management.

"Teams that are successful, franchises that are healthy, they have leadership that's stable," Carpenter said on the "Las Vegas Insider Podcast." "We're talking below the owner level, we're talking [general managers], assistant [general managers]. ... If you got a good GM, you're going to lose assistant GMs, because they're gonna go and they're going to get other jobs -- GM jobs. ... Since I've been covering the Raiders for five years ... the Raiders have had four GMs. Now, one of them was an intern in Champ Kelly. But they had Mike Mayock, Dave Ziegler, Champ Kelly, and now they have Tom Telesco. If you're going to be a healthy franchise, you absolutely positively have got to have stability of management.

"Again, when you've got a great GM, they are going to lose their [assistant GMs] to other jobs. So it's not necessarily a stability with those guys leaving, but it's with that GM job. ... There is no shame when your staff leaves for a bigger position and more money. ... When you lose key players to the same position in another franchise, because you're not willing to pay them, that's being cheap. Now that's not been the case with the Raiders, but the problem is they've had no stability with the general manager. General managers are the neck that moves the head."

Telesco was hired in January to lead the Raiders as general manager. Since his arrival, he and head coach Antonio Pierce have established an identity for the team through key offseason acquisitions in free agency. The signing of defensive tackle Christian Wilkins, and the selections of generational tight end Brock Bowers and offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson in the 2024 NFL Draft were notable additions.

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