A new report seems to give a clear indication that Champ Kelly has unofficially been given the job as the Las Vegas Raiders full-time general manager.
This is a very pivotal point in the short and long-term future of the Raiders. Not only is the organization looking to decide who will be their head coach in 2024, but they also have to fill their GM spot for the years ahead. The reason for this is the franchise took the bold step of firing head coach Josh McDaniels and GM Dave Ziegler after Week 8 of the season.
Related: Las Vegas Raiders interview interesting candidate for head coach opening
With them out, linebackers coach Antonio Pierce and assistant GM Champ Kelly were thrust into the top jobs and performed far better than many expected. Under their interim regime, Las Vegas went from a team with a disgruntled locker room and headed to another losing season to a group that scored 63 points against the Chargers and scored a rare win in Arrowhead Stadium against the Chiefs.
Heading into the offseason, both Pierce and Kelly seemed like top candidates for the full-time positions, however, in recent days there have been various signs that both being retained in their current roles was now an eventuality.
Champ Kelly sitting in on Las Vegas Raiders head coach interviews
Despite elite-level head coaches like Jim Harbaugh, Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll, and Mike Vrabel on the market, the organization has chosen to speak with less well-known names as they seemingly aim to meet their obligations under the Rooney Rule instead of talking to every top talent available. This likely indicates Pierce is now the odds-on favorite to be the head coach going forward.
Well, there seems to be some major evidence that Kelly has also already landed the GM job. On Wednesday afternoon, ESPN NFL insider Jeremy Fowler reported that the “Raiders interim GM Champ Kelly has been present for the team’s head coaching interviews this week, per sources, which could be considered a good sign for his candidacy for the full-time job. He’s directly involved in the process.”
While he has not been officially given the job, it doesn’t seem like there is any better proof that he will get the full-time role than being a part of choosing the team’s next head coach.