Silver Minings: Mike Mayock weighs in on firing from Raiders

Say what you want or feel how you want to feel about Mike Mayock’s tenure as the Las Vegas Raiders general manager, but there’s no denying that the Raiders played better when he was piecing together the roster than before he took over.

Mayock was able to find a few late-round gems like Maxx Crosby, Hunter Renfrow and Nate Hobbs, as well as bring in a few veterans like Yannick Ngakoue, Casey Hayward and Denzel Perryman, all of whom played a large role in Las Vegas’ playoff berth this year. However, the first-round whiffs were ever-present and one playoff game in three seasons wasn’t good enough for Mayock to keep his job.

For the first time since getting fired, the former television analyst turned NFL general manager spoke to the media on the Dan Patrick Show, and Patrick point-blank asked him why he was let go:

“When I got there they were a 4-12 team and then we went 7-9, 8-8 and 10-7,” Mayock replied. “We were on the nine-yard line in the playoffs with 35 seconds left with four shots to tie Cincinnati, who went to the Super Bowl, which kinda shows you how close the NFL is.”

“...I think at the end of the day it’s all about the owner has the final say. I think Mark Davis has the good heart. I like Mark Davis personally and at the end of the day, he decided that me and Rich Bisaccia didn’t get it done at the level he wanted it, or that he felt like a couple of other guys could get it done at a higher level moving forward. And I have to respect that because he’s the boss.”

In my opinion, that was about as perfect as a response as Mayock could have given. He defended his resume/what he built with the Raiders, while still respecting the organization and the man who signed his lucrative paychecks.

Patrick also asked the Silver and Black’s former general manager what’s next?

“I’m kind of excited, I’m an old guy and it’s good to be excited. I’ve never been afraid of a challenge...I watch tape every morning, the challenge for me is if I watch tape from 7-10, go get a workout for an hour and a half, it’s noon and now I’ve got nothing to do and I’m not used to that.

“...What I’m trying to do is I’m trying to get balls up in the air. I’ve had some opportunities to go to NFL teams, I’ve had some of my television people call me. I kind of look at this like at age 63 I know me and I need to be around the football, but whether it’s an NFL team, whether it’s doing television or, in all honesty, I could go coach the defensive backs at [high school]...and be really happy. So, I’m just trying to keep it all up in the air and when the right opportunity comes I think I’ll know.”

You’ve got to love it, a true football guy through and through.

In other Raiders links:

• Nixon to join Bisaccia: the Green Bay Packers are signing former Raiders cornerback Keisean Nixon.
• Day 3 gems in the 2022 NFL Draft: an interior offensive lineman, a backup quarterback option and a cornerback who could be options for the Silver and Black.
• Jermaine Eluemunor re-signed, five others cut: Defensive back Natrell Jamerson and wide receiver Javon Wims were released while defensive back Jordan Brown, defensive tackle P.J. Johnson, and tackle William Sweet were placed on waivers, via Pro Football Talk.
• Derek Carr, allegedly, hits a hole-in-one: yes, it really is the offseason when you get updates on a player’s golf game, but let’s embrace debate, Carr said no witnesses were around so, did it really happen?