Dave Ziegler Approaches His Role With the Right Mentality
Las Vegas Raiders General Manager Dave Ziegler is in his second offseason with the team.
With free agency around the corner, a vacant spot at the starting quarterback spot, and the NFL Draft approaching, there's a lot of pressure on Ziegler to make big moves to turn the Raiders around after a disappointing 2022 campaign.
While the future is never guaranteed for the general manager, Ziegler makes his moves strictly for what he was brought on to do: build a team that can compete for a Super Bowl.
Ziegler discussed his mentality as general manager of the Raiders when he joined the "Bussin' With The Boys" podcast.
"It could end next year," Ziegler said. "You don't really know how it all is going to go. And so for me, I just, I tell myself a lot: 'Dude, you're the GM of the Raiders. Like, you were a guidance counselor. Keep things in perspective. Keep it level and just enjoy the moment.' And I think because of that mindset, my decisions aren't driven by just trying to stay alive. Like the fact that I got to this position and I have this job is, like we talked about, it's kind of wild compared to where we were in 2008. So I don't let fear or the fear of failure or being fired drive decisions. We're going to swing, and we also have a vision of how we want to do things. And we're just going to go."
Ziegler recognized historic NFL franchises that always seem to be in contention despite having occasional down years, such as the Green Bay Packers, the Baltimore Ravens, and his former club, the New England Patriots.
"[T]hey're always kind of around," Ziegler said. "And I believe that we're going to get there doing it the way that we want to do it. But I'm not going to do anything and divert from that because I'm like scared of something. ... That's not how I'm wired. I'm not going to go down like that."
The 2023 NFL Draft will go from April 27-29 and be held at Union Station in Kansas City, Mo. The NFL Scouting Combine is Feb. 28-March 6, 2023, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind. The club's deadline to designate Franchise or Transition Players is March 7, 2023, before 4 p.m. EST.
March 13-15 is the free agent negotiation period. Starting at 12 p.m. EDT on March 13 and ending at 3:59:59 p.m. EDT on March 15, clubs are permitted to contact and enter into contract negotiations with the certified agents of players who will become Unrestricted Free Agents upon the expiration of their 2022 Player Contracts at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15.
The 2023 NFL Year and Free Agency period begins at 4 p.m. EDT on March 15. The Raiders are expected to be significant players in the free-agent market this season.
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