Raiders Fire GM Reggie McKenzie Amid Awful Season

TheSportster

By Alex Hoegler

Published Dec 10, 2018

The Oakland Raiders have fired general manager Reggie McKenzie as another disappointing season comes to an end.

Nov 18, 2018; Glendale, AZ, USA; Oakland Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie looks on prior to a game against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

After essentially losing his power as general manager to new $100 million head coach Jon Gruden, Oakland Raiders GM Reggie McKenzie was fired this morning, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

McKenzie's firing had been rumored since Sunday, and it happened a day after the Raiders shocked the Pittsburgh Steelers 24-21. Rapoport noted back in September that there was a major "divide" in the team building. Thus, McKenzie's departure from the organization was only a matter of time.

The Raiders hired McKenzie to take over as general manager in 2012, and he quickly pieced together a team filled with franchise building blocks. McKenzie nailed the Khalil Mack and Derek Carr draft picks in 2014, and he got a Pro Bowl wide receiver in Amari Cooper a year later.

McKenzie also hired former Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio as his new head coach for the 2015 season. After going 7-9 that year, the Raiders went 12-4 and reached the postseason for the first time in 14 years.

The resurgent season in Oakland had McKenzie's fingerprints all over them. With clever drafting, smart coach hirings and a handful of good free agent signings, McKenzie's Raiders looked to be on the up again.

But after a down year for the Raiders in 2017, owner Mark Davis decided to fire Del Rio and give $100 million to Gruden, who had been out of coaching for 10 years. The former Monday Night Football analyst refused to pay Mack during his holdout, and the decision was to trade the star pass rusher to the Chicago Bears.

What This Means

McKenzie was seemingly never on board with the decision to trade Mack, but he had little say since Gruden was given all the power from Davis. And so, the man responsible for building the Raiders back into a relevant franchise (for one season, at least), lost his job.

This only puts the pressure on Gruden to nail his three first-round draft picks in 2019. The Raiders removed McKenzie and gave him $100 million to turn it around on his own. It's all up to Gruden to show he's the man to do it.

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