Raiders Fire McDaniels-Ziegler! Top HC and GM Candidates for 2024 Offseason

The Las Vegas Raiders made the first cut of the season when firing head coach Josh McDaniels, offensive coordinator Mick Lombardi and general manager Dave Ziegler in a midnight massacre on Halloween night.

The drama is intense, and now owner Mark Davis must look to replace his regime once again. Davis, one of the poorest owners in the NFL (is that an oxymoron?) is now on the hook for guaranteed money to Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock, and the three men fired Tuesday evening. He’ll be digging deep—or bringing on more minority investors like Tom Brady—to hire a new staff.

You might be like me and expect that Davis will go with the inexperienced coach/general manager route to keep costs down, but in his past he has shown a willingness to swing for the fences and hire big names.

So who will the Raiders look to? We can’t pretend to know what Davis will do—he’s a wildcard—but we can tell you who our top candidates would be to replace the men who were fired.

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General Manager Candidates

*listed alphabetically

Mike Borgonzi, Kansas City Chiefs

Borgonzi is the next man up in Kansas City after seeing Ryan Poles get a GM job recently. He’s a dedicated, smart scout who has experience working the pro and college side of the job. Borgonzi is well-connected around the league, too, which means he could wait for the right job to open up and not rush into an opening.

Ian Cunningham, Chicago Bears

The assistant GM in Chicago, you might be surprised that Cunningham’s name would be on any lists given the Bears’ struggles, but he’s a well-respected scout who has worked his way up the rankings in recent years. Cunningham is just 38 years old and has worked for storied franchises in Baltimore and Philadelphia—two places that churn out GMs like crazy.