At a time when it’s regarded as a given that coach Dennis Allen will be fired by the Raiders and that G.M. Reggie McKenzie likely is safe, there’s talk in league circles that G.M. Reggie McKenzie could indeed be on the outs as well.
Regarded by many as the only guy who is truly safe in Oakland, owner Mark Davis could indeed decide to clear the decks and start over, two years after dumping coach Hue Jackson and hiring a true G.M.
Via Jerry McDonald of InsideBayArea.com, former Raiders CEO Amy Trask raised an interesting point on CBS Sports Network earlier in the day regarding the performance of McKenzie and Allen since landing their jobs.
“The narrative has changed in Oakland,” Trask said. “Just about two years ago at the press conference, Reggie [McKenzie] remarked that he had looked at the [salary] cap situation and it was manageable. He said the team would be fine. Nothing wholesale would need to be done. And Dennis Allen emphasized at that press conference that there was talent on both sides of the ball. That there was enough talent to compete at the highest levels of the NFL. And that there was talent to compete for a championship in 2012.
“Well the team then went out in 2012 and went 4-12 after having been one game removed from the playoffs the year before. . . . Continuity is important. I argued with Al [Davis] about that all the time. We had so many arguments, about a lot of things, but about the importance of continuity. But at some point, you have to say, ‘What is more important? Keeping the same person in place or evaluating and considering and making sure you have the right person in place’. . . . When you ask if [Allen] is the right person, I go back to what I opened with. Why has that narrative changed entirely in two years with the team’s performance?”
The narrative was crafted, and then changed, both by McKenzie and Allen. Come Monday, Mark Davis could decide to tear up the script.