With the passing of Al Davis comes many, many changes for the Oakland Raiders. Davis was unique in his definition of the word "owner," trusting in his own ability to do many things. Davis had involved himself heavily in many front office happenings, as well as taken on the role of general manager and also has spent a lot of time influencing head coaches, while directly involving himself with on-the-field operations.
Now the team is changing, Mark Davis is going to be the new owner, but he won't involve himself in a general manager role. Davis' influence will no longer stretch to the football field all the way from his position as owner, but a more traditional approach is in their future. The new general manager is expected to work in tandem with head coach Hue Jackson, and the search is now underway.
Amy Trask, the team's CEO, has stated that she's not prepared to talk publicly about the search, but it is definitely ongoing. There's already been several names coming up as far as the general manager search is concerned, including reports about John Madden potentially joining, though perhaps as a consultant, and not necessarily a general manager. In a consultant role, Albert Breer mentions names like Ernie Accorsi and Ron Wolf.
For the general manager position, a couple names have come up thus far. Jason LaConfora tweeted Eric DeCosta, current Baltimore Ravens executive, as a target, but mentions how he might be unobtainable. Mike Cardano reported on Thursday that the Raiders have contacted sports agent Robert London about the vacant position. London is the vice president at Dow Lohnes Sports and Entertainment.