Insider Believes Mark Davis is “Leaning Towards” Going with Champ Kelly as Raiders GM

The Raiders are weeks away from naming their next general manager, but it sounds like interim GM Champ Kelly is at least getting some favorable consideration for the job.

A recent Sportsnaut piece by Scott Gulbransen laid out some of the reasons why Kelly would be a good fit for the Raiders, and a team insider said on Thursday that he thinks owner Mark Davis is leaning towards going with Kelly as the team’s full-time general manager.

“In this case I think Mark [Davis] has a pretty good idea if he wants to go in that direction or not,” The Athletic‘s Vic Tafur said this week on the State of the Nation podcast. “My guess is that he is leaning towards going with Champ Kelly as the GM.”

For the sake of good record keeping, Tafur’s comments were not a report, and he didn’t make a prediction. It’s an opinion from someone on the inside, and things can change quickly in the NFL.

With that in mind, it’s interesting to know that in the second week of December, Kelly seems to be making a solid impression on Davis.

One thing we know, without question, is that Kelly is respected around the league, and he has a good understanding of the Raiders’ roster. Within a year of Josh McDaniels joining the Raiders, there were reports that he “misjudged” the roster prior to joining the team and at the very least, Kelly would be able to make informed decisions on the futures of players already on the roster.

If Kelly does end up getting the Raiders GM job, it will be interesting to see what direction the team goes at head coach. Will he be the one that decides the next head coach, or will Davis have a heavy hand in that process, as well?

We know Kelly has a good relationship with interim head coach Antonio Pierce, but he also has a connection with at least one other top head coaching candidate said to be in the mix…

twitter: @raidersbeat

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