Raiders interview Falcons national scout Ruston Webster for GM job

Ruston Webster was the Titans general manager from 2012 to 2015, and after being pushed out of that role, he joined the Falcons as a national scout and has been in Atlanta since 2016. Now it appears he may have a shot at becoming a general manager again.

Per Ian Rapoport at NFL Network, the Raiders have interviewed Webster for their general manager vacancy.

Webster would be an experienced choice for Las Vegas, which fired Mike Mayock recently. After 18 years with Tampa Bay in a variety of roles and four years with Seattle, Webster became the vice president of player personnel for Tennesse in 2010 and spent two years there, taking over as the general manager in 2012. He brought aboard Taylor Lewan, Marcus Mariota, DaQuan Jones and Avery Williamson in his four drafts, but whiffed on quite a few picks and the team was brutally bad over the last couple of seasons of his tenure. The Raiders would presumably be interested in Webster’s ability to build a front office based on his leaguewide connections, the strength of his scouting background, and potentially recommendations from Falcons executives including Rich McKay.

It’s not a knock on the Falcons scout, but it’s sort of a surprise to me to see Webster getting interviews before former Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff, who despite his free agent foibles and Atlanta’s bombed-out cap heading into 2021 also is an experienced executive with a quality draft track record, including a recent crown jewel in A.J. Terrell. After firing Mayock, who didn’t exactly have a wealth of experience as a personnel man and was by some reports walked over by disgraced coach Jon Gruden, it’s not a surprise that the Raiders might want someone with Webster’s background, however.

We wish Webster luck if he gets the job, and if not, hopefully he’ll be continue to be heavily involved in helping to bring a great draft class to Atlanta in 2022.