The Las Vegas Raiders have some major foundational decisions to make this offseason. While much of the attention goes towards who will be the team’s next head coach, the Raiders also must hire a new general manager after parting ways with Dave Ziegler earlier this season.
Bringing in the right person to run the front office is imperative to the Raiders finally getting over the hump and becoming true contenders once again. The franchise is already hard at work looking to find the right person for the job, and they have turned towards a division rival for their most recent interview.
According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Raiders interviewed Denver Broncos executive Kelly Kleine Van Calligan for their general manager position:
Kleine has a lot of front-office experience and has spent the last three seasons with the Broncos as executive director of football operations/special advisor to the General Manager. She is the primary liaison for the Broncos’ football operations and has responsibilities with both pro and college scouting.
Additionally, she is involved in all aspects of the Broncos’ personnel department, including day-to-day football administration, player evaluation, and NFL draft and free agency preparations, as well as overseeing Denver’s video department.
Before joining the Broncos, Kleine spent nine seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, where she played a big role in the team’s personnel department, including being involved with player evaluation, NFL draft and free agency planning, opponent advances, and general football administration.
This is a major decision for the Raiders franchise, and they have to be sure to bring in the right person. Kleine surely has the experience and is ready to take that next step, but the Raiders are looking at a lot of candidates.
The Raiders have also requested interviews with Colts assistant general manager Ed Dodds, 49ers assistant general manager Adam Peters, Bills director of player personnel Terrance Gray, former Chargers general manager Tom Telesco and Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown.
Getting the right coach and general manager in the building will set the foundation for how this Raiders franchise moves in the immediate future. The last hires failed so now the Raiders have another opportunity to move into the next era of Raiders football and return the silver and black to its place amongst the elite franchises of the NFL.
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