May 11, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis (left) talks to general manager Reggie McKenzie (right) during rookie minicamp at the Raiders team headquarters. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Plan
McKenzie signed a 5-year contract so all everyone that wants him fired should get over it because that’s not going to happen. Davis was clear that McKenzie would be there for the life of his contract so anything about him on a hot seat is wrong. Davis going on his rants about the Raiders “regressing” a while ago was for the public because he can’t say he’s okay with losing.
That “deconstruction” phase Davis spoke of was overdone in my opinion because there was some young talent there too. But I see McKenzie’s thought process and in the end, it could very well work much better but it will take a little longer. McKenzie’s plan is trade the present for a perennial contender in the future as you already know but it’s deeper than most people realize.
If McKenzie mixes Davis’ picks with his new talent, they go to the playoffs a couple of times and the team gets old just like in 2002. So he blew the team up to rebuild through the draft so he doesn’t have too many players getting old at once. McKenzie didn’t get to be a G.M. by being stupid so he hired head coach Dennis Allen knowing he was a sacrificial lamb while going through this process.
The Raiders’ roster is getting close so it was time to fire Allen so the fans think they’re doing something about the losing. The old vets McKenzie signed can all be released with the Raiders having $70 million in cap space this offseason. All that should tell us as plain as day that Raiders were never supposed to win anything this year as they appear to be only one draft away.