With a keen eye for acquiring talented players, Tom Telesco serves his sixth season as General Manager of the Chargers in 2018.

With a keen eye for acquiring talented players, Tom Telesco serves his sixth season as General Manager of the Chargers in 2018.

Telesco was hired by the Chargers in January 2013. Forty-years-old at the time of his hiring, he became the youngest general manager in team history. Telesco immediately helped the Chargers return to the playoffs in 2013 with a roster that featured 25 players who joined the team prior to or during the season.

His first draft featured 2013 Pepsi Next NFL Rookie of the Year Keenan Allen. In 2017, Allen went on to break the Chargers’ single-season receptions record and posted the second most receiving yards in team history en route to being named the NFL Comeback Player of the Year and earning his first Pro Bowl nod.

Over his five years with the organization, Telesco has drafted three pro bowlers in the first round in Jason Verrett, Melvin Gordon and Joey Bosa.

Telesco also has a proven track record with undrafted free agents. His finds have been highlighted by deep-threat and 1,000-yard receiver Tyrell Williams out of Western Oregon, special teams stalwart Nick Dzubnar from Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, running back Austin Ekeler out of Western State and Central Michigan safety Jahleel Addae.

On top of his draft choices, Telesco has brought in some of the top free agent talents in the NFL. Casey Hayward has blossomed into one of the top corners in the league, making back-to-back Pro Bowls in 2016-17 while offensive tackle Russell Okung made the Pro Bowl in his first season with the team in 2017. His signings also include defensive tackle Brandon Mebane, wide receiver/punt returner Travis Benjamin and his latest being three-time pro bowl center Mike Pouncey in 2018.

A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Telesco prepped at St. Francis High School in Athol Springs, N.Y. Days prior to Super Bowl XLVIII in January 2014, which was co-hosted by New York and New Jersey, Telesco was recognized for their accomplishments on the floor of the New York State Senate by Senator Timothy Kennedy.

After graduating from St. Francis, Telesco played wide receiver at John Carroll University in Ohio. He was a starter on the Blue Streaks’ 1994 Ohio Athletic Conference Championship team, and two of his teammates at John Carroll were Chris and Brian Polian, sons of Bill Polian, a 2015 inductee into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

While attending John Carroll, Telesco spent four summers (1991-94) as a training camp intern with the Buffalo Bills. At that time, the elder Polian was the Bills’ general manager. Polian left Buffalo for Carolina in 1994 and after Telesco graduated from John Carroll with a degree in business management in 1995, Polian hired him to work in the Panthers’ scouting department. In 1998, Telesco and Polian moved on to Indianapolis, where Telesco would spend his next 15 NFL seasons as a college scout, pro scout, director of pro scouting, director of player personnel and vice president of football operations. He worked in Indianapolis during Peyton Manning’s entire career with the Colts and later part of the team that brought Andrew Luck to the Colts with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft. Telesco also was involved in Colts drafts that featured four-time Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James, five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Reggie Wayne, Dwight Freeney, a seven-time Pro Bowler as a Colt and two-time Pro Bowl selection and Defensive Player of the Year Bob Sanders.

Telesco’s tenure in Indianapolis was one of the most successful eras in Colts history. They played in two Super Bowls, including a victory over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI. From 1998-2012, the Colts won 154 regular-season games, eight division titles and they appeared in the playoffs 12 times. Indianapolis set an NFL record with 12 or more wins in seven consecutive seasons and they won an NFL-record 23 straight regular-season games during the 2008-09 seasons. Their 115 regular-season wins from 2000-09 set an NFL record for wins in a decade.

 In 2015 and this year in 2018, Telesco was invited to be a speaker at the NFL’s Career Development Symposium in Arizona. The program, attended by nearly 70 coaches and front office executives, was designed to engage aspiring head coach and general manager candidates. Telesco was one of only two active general managers invited to address participants at the symposium. He is also the co-chairman of the NFL General Manager Advisory Committee.

Telesco and his wife, Larah, have a daughter, Elena, and two sons, Thomas and Nicholas.