Chargers GM search: 16 candidates to replace Tom Telesco

The Los Angeles Chargers fired general manager Tom Telesco on Friday morning after 11 seasons. Telesco was hired in 2013. For the first time in over a decade, the Chargers will begin a search for a new GM.

It has become obvious this season that the Chargers need a new voice and fresh vision atop their personnel department. And the expectation is that owner Dean Spanos and president of football operations John Spanos will cast a wide net as they look for their next GM. There should not be any set criteria pushing the organization toward candidates with a specific background. As Dean Spanos said in his statement Friday, the Chargers will be “reimagining” their strategy for building a Super Bowl-caliber team.

With that in mind, here are 16 candidates to replace Telesco as GM.

Adam Peters, San Francisco 49ers assistant general manager

Peters joined the 49ers in 2017 when general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan were hired. He spent his first four seasons as vice president of player personnel before being promoted to assistant general manager in 2022. The 49ers have arguably the best roster in football.

Ian Cunningham, Chicago Bears assistant general manager

A former offensive lineman at the University of Virginia, Cunningham spent one training camp with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2008 before ending his playing career and transitioning into scouting. He worked as a scout under Ozzie Newsome with the Baltimore Ravens for nine seasons. He then joined the Philadelphia Eagles, working under GM Howie Roseman. Cunningham was the Eagles’ director of college scouting in 2017-18, assistant director of player personnel in 2019-20 and director of player personnel in 2021. He joined the Bears in 2022 when Ryan Poles was hired as GM.

Mike Borgonzi, Kansas City Chiefs assistant general manager

Borgonzi was promoted to assistant GM in 2021. He previously served as the Chiefs’ director of football operations from 2018 to ’20 and director of player personnel from 2015 to ’17. He has spent the past 15 seasons in Kansas City, working his way up through both the college and pro scouting departments. The Chiefs have won seven straight AFC West titles. The Chargers have seen their talented rosters twice every season. If you can’t beat ’em, hire ’em.

Joe Hortiz, Baltimore Ravens director of player personnel

Hortiz has spent the past 26 seasons with the Ravens and the last five as director of player personnel. Before that, he was Baltimore’s director of college scouting for 10 seasons from 2008 to ’19.

Trey Brown, Cincinnati Bengals senior personnel executive

Brown played college football at UCLA as a defensive back and was signed by the Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2008. After his playing career, Brown spent three seasons as a New England Patriots scout. He then moved on to the Eagles, where he rose to director of college scouting over six seasons. Brown joined the Bengals as a scout in 2021. He was promoted to senior personnel executive in 2022. The Bengals have one of smallest personnel and scouting departments in the league, which means Brown has gained experience in every phase of team building. He has interviewed for three NFL GM jobs in his career.

Terrance Gray, Buffalo Bills director of player personnel

Gray was hired by the Bills in 2017 after spending 11 seasons as a scout for the Minnesota Vikings. He was Buffalo’s assistant director of player personnel in 2021 before being promoted to director of player personnel in 2022, working his way up GM Brandon Beane’s staff.

Brandon Brown, New York Giants assistant general manager

Giants GM Joe Schoen hired Brown from the Eagles when he took the job in New York in 2022. Brown spent five seasons in Philadelphia. He was assistant director of pro scouting in 2017 and 2018. The Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017. He was promoted to director of pro scouting in 2019. In 2021, Brown was promoted again to director of player personnel.

Will McClay, Dallas Cowboys vice president of player personnel

McClay is third in command in the Cowboys’ personnel department behind owner and GM Jerry Jones and his son Stephen Jones. McClay has been in Dallas for 21 seasons. He was named the VP of player personnel in 2017 and has served in that role since. The Cowboys are one of the best drafting teams in the league, and McClay is influential in that, “overseeing the club’s NFL Draft process” while also playing “a key role in free agent and trade acquisitions,” according to the media guide.

Ray Agnew, Detroit Lions assistant general manager

Lions general manager Brad Holmes has shepherded one of the most impressive rebuilds in recent NFL history over his three seasons in Detroit. Agnew has been Holmes’ assistant GM for all three of those seasons. He previously spent 18 seasons with the Rams scouting department, including as the team’s director of pro scouting from 2017 to ’20. The Chargers will be hiring a new GM and new head coach, after also firing Brandon Staley on Friday. The Lions went through the same process when they hired Holmes and coach Dan Campbell in 2021.

Catherine Raîche, Cleveland Browns assistant general manager and vice president of football operations

Raîche got her start in football in the CFL with the Montreal Alouettes in 2015 as the organization’s coordinator of football administration. She was promoted to assistant GM in 2017. In 2018-19, she worked as director of football administration for the Toronto Argonauts. She got her first opportunity in the U.S. in 2019 with the Tampa Bay Vipers of the XFL. The Eagles hired Raîche in 2019 as their football operations coordinator. In 2021, she was promoted to VP of football operations. The Browns hired her in 2022. Raîche was a lawyer in Montreal before starting in football.

JoJo Wooden, Los Angeles Chargers interim general manager

Wooden took over as interim GM on Friday when the Chargers fired Telesco. It would be useful for the Chargers to interview Wooden — at the very least to pick his brain about the Telesco era. Wooden first joined the Chargers as director of player personnel in 2013, when Telesco was hired. If the Chargers are truly trying to reimagine their processes, though, Wooden does not make a ton of sense.

Rick Spielman, former Minnesota Vikings general manager

Spielman was the Vikings GM from 2012 to ’21. The Vikings went 87-72 in that span. They made the playoffs four times, including a run to the NFC Championship Game in 2017.

Alec Halaby, Philadelphia Eagles assistant general manager

Halaby was promoted to assistant GM in 2022 after spending the previous six seasons as the Eagles’ VP of football operations and strategy. A Harvard grad, Halaby has “focused on player evaluation, roster management, and resource allocation, with a particular emphasis on integrating traditional and analytical methods in decision-making,” according to the team website.

Brian Gaine, Buffalo Bills assistant general manager

Gaine has experience in the role after serving as the Houston Texans GM for a season in 2018.

Spytek has been with the Bucs for the past eight seasons, including their Super Bowl title with Tom Brady in 2020. He was promoted to assistant GM for 2023 after serving as VP of player personnel the previous two seasons.

Brandt Tilis, Kansas City Chiefs VP of football operations

Another option if the Chargers want to mine the Chiefs’ brain trust. Tilis has spent the past 14 seasons in Kansas City. He joined the Chiefs as a salary cap/contract analyst in 2010. He served as director of salary cap and football operations analytics from 2014 to ’16 before being promoted to director of football administration in 2017. Tilis has been VP of football operations since 2021.

(Top photo of Adam Peters: Aaron Gash / Associated Press)

“The Football 100,” the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, is on sale now. Order it here.