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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Los Angeles Chargers Tuesday formally announced the hiring of Baltimore Ravens director of player personnel Joe Hortiz as the team's new general manager.
"Joe is one of the most respected player evaluators and personnel minds in the league whose contributions to the Ravens front office over the past two decades cannot be overstated," Chargers President of Football Operations John Spanos said in a statement. "When you consider his football IQ, eye for talent, ability to think both short and long term as it pertains to roster construction, organization, thoroughness and ability to be creative within the confines of our collective bargaining agreement, it's hard not to be excited about the future."
Hortiz takes over a position left vacant by the mid-December firing of Tom Telesco, who had been the general manager since 2013.
His hiring also follows last week's announcement of Jim Harbaugh at the Chargers new coach, fresh off his national championship victory with the University of Michigan.
Hortiz has worked for the Ravens since 1998, beginning as a personnel assistant then becoming a local and national scout, and eventually becoming director of college scouting. He has been the director of player personnel since 2019.
"When you've had the privilege of working with one organization your entire career, something that's exceedingly rare in our business, the opportunity and fit has to pretty much be perfect to consider a change," Hortiz said in a statement. "This is that opportunity -- the Chargers' brand, the uniforms, foundational building blocks already on the roster, a new training facility, SoFi Stadium and a clear commitment from the Spanos family to dedicating every resource possible towards bringing a Lombardi trophy home to our fans; it's all there. Then of course, having known the Harbaugh family for all these years and the chance to continue that special relationship in this new role, I truly could not be more fortunate."