When the Raiders made Jon Gruden the coach and essentially gave him the keys to the franchise, some expected G.M. Reggie McKenzie to walk away. He didn’t then, but soon he apparently will.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports that McKenzie will be out after the 2018 season ends.
It’s not a surprise. Gruden has spent much of his first year in Oakland undoing much of what McKenzie had accomplished in building a team that made it to the playoffs in 2016. Gruden has traded McKenzie first-rounder Khalil Mack and McKenzie first-rounder Amari Cooper. Gruden also has brought in a slew of his own players, players McKenzie may not have otherwise wanted.
So now Gruden will get what he was expected to seek a year ago: Someone who will set the table for him, with players he want. Which will again call into question his abilities as a personnel evaluator.
Rumors abounded during the offseason that Gruden’s former Oakland and Tampa Bay lieutenant Bruce Allen would be heading to the Raiders. Allen denied it in May, and he’ll likely have to deny it again in January, because the rumors will surely resurface.
Then again, given recent events in Washington, there’s a chance that Allen will be available come January, if/when Washington owner Daniel Snyder decides to make a change at the top of the organization.
