Before Las Vegas Raiders GM John Spytek was putting in front office shifts, he was grinding it out for only $250 a week. Simply, somehow trying to stay afloat in the football world. No handouts, no guarantees, no money. Straight hustle. Those days would have made him question if he even belonged to that world. However, the answer was always yes, every single time. Then came his move to the Eagles, which changed, well, everything.
It was not simply a job they offered him—it was a shot. And Andy Reid was at the helm, with Terrell Owens leading the locker room. It wasn’t just about football; it was being around and learning from some great men. As for Spytek, it changed the course of his career. A place where he started to feel like all the hustle might lead to somewhere real. Thanks to Reid and Co.
Spytek doesn’t only reminisce about his time with Andy Reid—he lives by it. The team at the time? It wasn’t just stacked, it was a well-oiled machine. And he had the front row seat. In a recent appearance on John Middlekauff’s YouTube podcast on Sunday, he said, “I got to see what a successful organisation looks like and how it runs day to day. Andy’s consistency and how stoic he was on a daily basis was great.” Watching him do his thing—how he trusted the people around him, how he curated a culture that actually lasted—it left a mark. Even now, with all these years of office work behind him, he always comes back to the Philly days.
Everyone at Philly had one thing in common. The love for the game. That’s why they were humming. “We were good in Philly because we had a lot of great people that had a love for football, and that is what we are going to try to do here. If you love football, there will be a place for you,” Spytek said. A madman’s love for football is pretty much all you need to succeed in that environment. And Spytek was overflowing with that love.
“I didn’t care what the money was, I didn’t care how I was going to get there, I was just going to get there. I was in a pinch yourself moment standing next to Andy Reid, Don McNav, Terrell Owens and all those guys,” he added.
Andy Reid has a similar affection for John and his abilities. When asked about Reid’s thoughts on Andy when he became the Raiders GM, he said, “John’s a sharp guy, smart guy. Hard worker, and he’s an honest person, so he’ll bring a certain stability there for sure. He’s a good talent evaluator, which becomes important for all the coaches and for the organisational success there.” But there was another person at the Eagles who was pivotal to John Spytek’s success.
Spytek’s turning point at Eagles
Growth wasn’t always linear for Spytek during his time with the Eagles. In fact, he was pretty overwhelmed at first. Talking about his early struggles, Middlekauff asked him: “What do you remember that experience when you get the job?” Spytek spilled the tea, saying, “It was actually a pay increase for me when I took that job making $17,000 a year in Philadelphia because I had just come from the Lions where I made $250 a week, um, in the 2004 season.” Definitely, that was pivotal for Spytek.
That was back in 2004, when he was working as a scouting assistant at the Lions. Arguably, the entry-level grind in front offices. He was fresh out of college at the time, and this role saw him doing data entry, film breakdowns, player evaluations, and tedious tasks that won’t do you good in your resume, but will definitely enable you to take on bigger things.
But it wasn’t just about the money, it was about being heard. Talking about his initial days with the Eagles, Spytek mentioned one person who helped him. And he was Eagles’ former GM Tom Heckert. The host asked, “Do you remember a moment, maybe a draft room, or a situation going into a school where you’re like ‘Okay, I think I can handle this.’?” Spytek was quick to answer.
“It’s a little more unique than maybe a certain player. I don’t know how well you knew Tom Heckert. He wasn’t the most social person in the world,” Spytek quipped. Reminiscing about his time with Heckert, he continued, “My office was right outside his office, and he’d walk by and go, ‘hey’ and just keep going. That changed in seven or eight months.” And how did they get along?
He spilled the tea, saying, “One day he walked by and asked, Who are you watching? What do you think? That’s when I thought, he cares about what I think,” he said. That sparked regular conversations between them as they kept talking about the kind of players they looked for. Heckert is no more with us, but his impact definitely shaped John Spytek.
That shift—from observer to contributor was the foundation for his growth. He had the eye for talent, he had the skillset. But it all started when he felt like his voice mattered. Sure, he was learning about how a machine runs in the NFL. But more importantly, he was learning how to lead.
Now, even after all these years of experience in the front office, the Eagles’ days serve as the blueprint for every decision he makes. But thanks to characters like Reid and Heckert, those decisions usually turn out to be correct. Andy Reid and John Spytek, despite now being division rivals, share a great relationship. It’ll be interesting to see how their teams fare next season.
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