It’s been a little over 24 hours since Tom Telesco was hired as General Manager for the San Diego Chargers. We sat down with team President Dean Spanos to get the scoop on what it’s been like working with him on his first day on the job.
Here is what he had to say:
Question: What has it been like working with Tom these past 24 hours?
Spanos: It’s been great. Yesterday was fairly hectic obviously, but after the press conference we got down to work last night. We worked well into the early evening. As you know we’re on a full search for a coach right now.
Question: How he’s been leading the search, is this how you envisioned it when you hired him?
Spanos: It is. You know, there’s no right or wrong way to do it necessarily, but when we interviewed Tom, we talked about how he would conduct a search, what types of questions he would ask and what kind of coach he’s looking for. The last few days, we’ve been in the process of finalizing our list of candidates. We’re now contacting candidates and putting together the interview schedule.
Question: Overall, the fans have been very supportive of this hire. How reassuring does that make you feel?
Spanos: Obviously it’s always a good thing when your fans believe in what you’re doing. Everybody got to see the type of individual he is, and what you see is what you get. He’s a very down-to-earth guy and has great communication skills. And I think everyone understands what his vision is going forward and building through the draft. You got a really good perspective listening to him yesterday and I’m happy with the way the fans are responding. That makes you feel good, but at the end of the day we have to go out and win. We have a long road to go down this coming season, and we’ve got to get this thing back into the right perspective and go out and win some games to get back in the playoffs.
Question: Finally, how exciting has this process been for you personally?
Spanos: It’s really been great. Change was needed. We made the change and we have somebody who has a different perspective and different vision going forward. I’m excited to see how it plays out.
