The Los Angeles Chargers’ 2023 season was largely a failure by all measures. As a result, they fired head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco. While Staley is still looking for his next role, reports surrounding Telesco are that he is staying in the AFC West in his new role.
Ian Rapoport of NFL Network is reporting that Telesco’s time looking for a new situation is officially over, as he is joining the Las Vegas Raiders in the same role he once occupied for the division rival.
Who Is Tom Telesco?
The Raiders officially announced the hire on Tuesday evening. With Telesco set to head to Sin City, let’s get to know the new Raiders GM better.
Telesco is an NFL executive from Buffalo, New York. He grew up in Hamburg, New York, and attended St. Francis High School, where he graduated in 1991.
Following high school, Telesco played wide receiver at John Carroll University where he won the championship with the school in 1994. His playing days ended after he graduated in 1995 with a Bachelor’s degree in business management.
Telesco’s Career
Telesco worked as a summer intern for the Buffalo Bills during his college days from 1991 to 1994. After finishing college in 1995, he began his NFL career as a scouting assistant for the Carolina Panthers, where he served in that role for two seasons before becoming an area scout in 1997.
Following his stint with the Panthers, Telesco joined the Colts in 1998, this time as an area scout, a role he held until 2000 before becoming a pro scout from 2001 to 2003 for the team. He was then again promoted to director of pro scouting from 2004 to 2005.
Eventually, Telesco would get another bump up in title as he became the director of player personnel for the team from 2006 to 2011 before becoming vice president of football operations in 2012.
Following the 2012 season, Telesco joined the Chargers organization in 2013 where he served as the general manager for 10 seasons. He was relieved of his duties following this year and has been unemployed to this point before being brought on for the same role with the division-rival Raiders.
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Telesco has compiled a record of 79-83 as the Chargers general manager. Despite the below .500 record under his watch, he’s received credit for some of the young talent the Chargers have been able to bring into the fold over the last few seasons — namely pleasures such as Justin Herbert and Asante Samuel Jr.
Now Telesco gets to bring his decade-plus of experience to the Raiders and will get a chance to get revenge on his former team that once employed him, twice a year.
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