Earlier this offseason, the Las Vegas Raiders hired John Spytek as their new general manager.
Spytek's history of helping build some of the best teams in the league over the past two decades, as well as his experience in improving multiple struggling teams, will undoubtedly help him turn the Raiders around.
It has already begun.
As the Raiders continue to address the flaws in their roster over the past few seasons, they have already shown improvement as a team following significant personnel changes this summer. Spytek has quickly and strategically improved the roster in a matter of months.
The Raiders' defense was ravaged by free agency, as the unit lost several players as soon as free agency started. Few teams in the league were more impacted by free agency than the Raiders.
The Raiders' group of linebackers was arguably the most impacted unit of any on the roster, after losing their starting linebackers from the past two seasons, Robert Spillane and Divine Deablo. The Raiders added veteran linebacker Devin White to the roster.
He credited Spytek as the primary reason he decided to join the Raiders after the two spent time in Tampa Bay with Tom Brady, and winning a Super Bowl. Following minicamp, White explained how his decision to join the Raiders came about.
"John Spytek, number one. We've got a great relationship. When I got drafted in '19, he took me out to dinner. In the process in Baton Rouge, he came down. We had a genuine relationship, myself, him, his kids, his family. They used to wear my jersey and everything. And just when I came here on a visit, it was the first visit that I decided to take, and Coach Pete [Carroll] was genuine, and I could see the camaraderie he had and what he believed in and what he wanted to do with this organization," White said.
"I'm cool with being part of a build, and then when the success happens, I'll feel like I had a part in it. So, I mean we just hit it off. With PG [Patrick Graham], he sat me down, walked me through the defense, showed me how I could be used, and that was very big. Because if you've got good attributes, you want to be used to help the team, and that's what type of coach he is. And Coach JG [John Glenn] had a lot of energy, and playing for a guy like that, he makes you want to come to work.""
