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The Los Angeles Chargers fired both head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco after their disastrous 63-21 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders. It wasn't a surprise that Staley was fired, but a bit more surprising that they dismissed Telesco.
Telesco had been the Chargers' GM since 2013, serving as the teams' GM through multiple head coaching tenures. However, the Chargers only had moderate success with Telesco as GM, making the playoffs just three times in his decade with the team and failing to win the division. While Telesco has had some success in the draft, selecting players like Derwin James and Phillip Rivers' replacement in Justin Herbert, his recent high-profile free agency signings have largely failed to land. While players like Khalil Mack have contributed, they weren't able to lead to greater team success.
In the meantime, Jojo Wooden will take over as the team's interim general manager for the final four games of the year. Since Wooden has been with the team for a while, there's a good chance he will be considered for the vacancy at the end of the season. However, if the team doesn't want to go with Wooden, they'll have to look elsewhere.
Here are some of the top candidates for the Chargers' upcoming GM search:
Ed Dodds
Dodds is the Colts assistant GM and has been with Indianapolis since 2017. He works right alongside GM Chris Ballard, who himself was one of the most popular GM prospects before joining the Colts. Dodds has already been a popular candidate, having interviewed several times before for general manager positions. However, he was the one to decline such chances. This may mean that Dodds will only leave the Colts if he really likes the organization and situation he'll be working with. The Chargers have some positives — particularly with Justin Herbert — but also have issues with cap space and dead contract money.
Adam Peters
Peters is widely considered one of the top GM candidates across the NFL. He joined the 49ers staff when Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch took over San Francisco in 2017. He's worked his way up to the vice president of player personnel and most recently promoted to assistant general manager, a role he's served for the past three years.
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Peters isn't just a top candidate because he's been on one of the best teams at acquiring talent, but because he's learned under one of the best run organizations. Outside of the Trey Lance pick, the way the 49ers have handled the draft, trades and free agents is a standard many other teams are trying to copy. With Peters, the Chargers could potentially make that goal a reality.
Matt Berry
Another emerging name in future GM talks is Seattle Seahawks' Matt Berry. Berry was promoted early in 2023 to the Seahawks' senior director of player personnel. Berry had primarily worked in the team's college scouting for around a decade, before getting bumped up to his new role, where he now helps with free agency and personnel decisions.
Berry has been part of a Seahawks team that has accumulated phenomenal talent, particularly in recent years with the drafting of players like Kenneth Walker III, D.K. Metcalf, Devon Witherspoon, Tariq Woolen and more. He also understands what it's like to be part of one of the more stable organizations, worked under John Schneider, who has been the team's GM since 2010.
John Spytek
Spytek is another name gaining ground for GM vacancies. He is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' assistant general manager and previously served as their vice president of player personnel. Spytek is integral in the Bucs' scouting and draft operations, helping both with acquiring talent and overseeing the departments. He's helped the team bring in free agents like Tom Brady and Shaq Barrett. Prior to joining Tampa, gained experience working for the Browns, Broncos and Eagles.
