Much has been made about Reggie McKenzie’s role now that Jon Gruden and his $100 million contract are in the building.
Owner Mark Davis said his head coach and general manager will work together, but stopped short of saying who has final say on personnel matters (it very well might be Davis himself).
For now at least, the Raiders seem to have tandem general manager status and it’ll be interesting to see how long that formula can be effective.
One aspect of the new power structure is that McKenzie might tend to be a bit more aggressive knowing that if there will eventually be an odd man out, it’s going to be him.
Maybe it will be in the cards that the Raiders will finally invest in an inside linebacker?
What about other trends that developed under McKenzie… does the Raiders draft philosophy change with Gruden in the room?
Whatever the case, Gruden joked that there would be “a lot of drama” between himself and McKenzie (video below at the 4:00 mark).
"This is an opportunity that really fired me up."@wyche89 caught up with @Raiders head coach Jon Gruden, who's ready to get to work.
(via @NFLNetwork) pic.twitter.com/zmlxTcosdf
— NFL (@NFL) January 9, 2018
Obviously he was intending to be funny, but might there have been a hint of truth under the trademark Gruden scowl?
For those hoping Gruden might be an upgrade over McKenzie on draft day, maybe temper your expectations just a little. Gruden’s input didn’t part any seas in Tampa…
And 2006-2008, the final year's: pic.twitter.com/Rp7c7owESr
— ryan (@StillRyanFive) January 10, 2018
twitter: @raidersbeat
Don’t see an odd man out. Gruden is not a GM. There will always be a GM. For now it is RM.
Don’t see taking a LB in the top 10. Maybe second round. Gruden will give RM his wish list following FA and RM will go to work and do his best. IMO they will be a good team.