On The Job: Raiders GM Discusses Shaping An NFL Roster For First Time As An NFL Organization’s Top Man
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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher-Writer
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — John Spytek just made a round of major personnel decisions in his first season as general manager of the Las Vegas Raiders.
The 45-year-old former University of Michigan linebacker met the media Wednesday for about 20 minutes to discuss Raiders players, the 53-man roster and his decisions.
Spytek, a former Michigan teammate of Raiders minority owner Tom Brady, said he’s “not afraid to make tough and critical decisions.”
He was asked what he learned about himself as the top player evaluation staffer in the Raiders organization, a team that is coming off a disappointing season of winning only four of 17 games and finishing with the sixth best record out of the 32-team National Football League.
Spytek: “I don’t know that I learned it, but that I’m okay living in that space, that hard decisions are okay. I think we’ve all, probably everybody in this room too, you’ve all been through a lot. I’ve been through a lot in my life, and at the end day, this is a job and this is football, and I take it really serious. I want to have a great team. I want Raider Nation to be proud. I want the players to get everything they deserve out of it.
“But I wanted this job for a lot of different reasons, but it’s because I’m not afraid to make tough and
critical decisions, and I don’t think that I’m going to get them all right. I’ve lived through getting things
wrong, and the older you get, I think you all realize you get things wrong but that you’ll be okay,” Spytek said
“But to make tough choices with conviction and then be self critical and open minded and aware enough to realize, like I got this one right, and this is why I got it right, and this one wrong, and this is why I got it wrong. And I’m sure we got some wrong over the past month, and we’ll see, but I can promise you I’ll
learn from those and I’ll only get better because of that.”
Spytek spoke several times of “being on the same page” with veteran NFL and college football coach Pete Carroll, who, like Spytek, is in his first season with the Raiders franchise. It should be noted that nine of the 11 draft picks selected by the Spytek-Carroll combo made the 53-man roster.
“I think it started with Coach [Pete Carroll] and I being on the same page from the get go last year,
and we had a lot to get accomplished in a short period of time when he and I both got here. Worked with
his staff, worked together, try to sort through the different scouting reports that I had my background and what I would look for in draft picks and all that,” Spytek said.
“And ultimately, we knew from the start that we were looking for the same kind of football player, the same kind of makeup, and then I thought Coach and I brought that to life in the draft. And we’ve talked from the start about building and fostering a culture that thrives on competition, and that if you can’t meet that challenge every day, if it’s too much from you, you won’t have a very good chance to be here long term,” he said.
Here’s a look at the players on the practice quad:
And other Raiders moves:
Spytek learned a lot about player evaluations from Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager Jason Licht. Spytek worked under Licht as vice president of player personnel and then assistant general manager. Spytek also worked on player evaluation for the Eagles, Browns and Broncos.
“I was fortunate in Tampa that Jason [Licht] gave me such exposure to everything that we did there. I was right next to him for most of it. So I think for me, the big difference is that ultimately, somebody has to make a decision, and on the personnel side, a lot of times, in harmony with Pete [Carroll], it comes down to me and him,” Spytek said.
“And so the hardest or the most different thing for me yesterday probably was, and the day before, was when we talked to the guys that we unfortunately had to let go, that that’s a different conversation that I’ve had in the past. In the past, it was more like, maybe I was the person just delivering the news, but I think there was an understanding looking at him and being like, ‘You’re part of the main reason why.’ And so I think there’s a responsibility in that, and something I don’t take lightly,” he said.
“But I think I learned about us and what we’re trying to do as the Raiders, that we had great communication, and we were able to solve any problems that kind of were laid out in front of us.”
Wednesday’s practice:
Spytek noted the challenging nature of making decisions about player with eye on this season and an eye on future years.
“Well, it challenging because you don’t want to wake up a month, two months, a year from now,
and not have pieces in place in the future too. But you can’t do that and just plan for the future and neglect today, and the next week, and the next game,” he said.
“I think as you have more experience in the job that I have, and Coach [Pete] Carroll obviously has been doing a long time, and the people we have around us, there’s just, I don’t know if I have a great answer for you, but just there’s a gut to it where it’s like, ‘This guy after the conversations and how he’s coming along and his mental makeup and his intelligence and his work ethic, how much is he ready for? How much can we expect?’ And not that they’re not going to take losses.” Spytek said.
“Everybody takes losses and gets beat down and gets beat by in this league. Everybody, even the best ones, but their ability to bounce back from it and be prepared for that situation and know that I can get up and I can keep going is paramount, and it is a nuanced challenge every year, but it is one that we have to do be really good at, because we want to win today and win tomorrow and the next year.”
PSA
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