The Las Vegas Raiders are in the midst of finalizing a deal with Tampa Bay Buccaneers assistant general manager John Spytek, per reports from ESPN NFL National Insider Adam Schefter.

Spytek and minority owner Tom Brady were connected close from the start and Spytek was the perceived frontrunner from the moment the Silver and Black fired GM Tom Telesco. Spytek was also the driving force in bringing Brady to Tampa Bay in 2020, where they would win a Super Bowl championship together.

The former AGM was also the architect of the Buccaneers roster that helped win that title and he is a world-class drafter and talent scout. After the Raiders lost out on head coach candidate Ben Johnson, who preferred former Lance Newmark (a former Detroit Lions colleague), it looked abundantly clear that the Raiders were back in the driver’s seat for Spytek.

Per our Hondo Carpenter on a recent episode of his podcast: “As far as the general manager search, I been telling you all along [John] Spytek was the leader. However, the interview of [Lance] Newmark was because that is who Ben Johnson wanted as his guy. I still believe that Spytek will end up being the manager.”

The Raiders are still searching for a head coach, and it will be crucial for the Silver and Black to marry the coach with their new GM, Spytek. That shouldn’t be an issue, however, given the Raider newfound approach.