McKenzie got a well-deserved contract extension from the team through 2020. It’s good timing in training camp, as Oakland is in great position to end its 14-year playoff drought in ‘16.
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But as the Raiders look forward to a prosperous future with the talent McKenzie has assembled, it’s important to look back on how he got them there:
Hired but handcuffed in ‘12. After the passing of Al Davis, his son and new owner Mark needed a GM. McKenzie had the Packers’ personnel pedigree under Ron Wolf and Ted Thompson, but it was the recommendation of Raiders coaching legend John Madden that sealed the deal. McKenzie did make his early imprint by firing Hue Jackson and hiring Dennis Allen, but he really couldn’t do much else. Since their AFC title in ‘02, the Raiders’ decade of overspending on overpriced veterans and bad draft picks left them with a salary-cap nightmare. They also had only six draft picks, all third round or later. To be set up for success, McKenzie had to assess the failures first.
Rebooting the youth in ‘13. McKenzie, after watching the Raiders go through a 4-12 season when they ranked 26th in scoring offense and 28th in scoring defense, had to aggressively make moves that made them worse before they could get better. He dumped three of the team’s underachieving first-round picks (Rolando McClain, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Michael Huff), despite the recency of their selections. He cut a big-name but fading player, Richard Seymour, even though it came with a $13.7 million dead cap hit. Although his first “real draft” didn’t net any current core players other than sixth-round running back Latavius Murray, he got the volume back with 10 total picks.
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The results on the field weren’t better as the team finished with an identical record and similar statistics during McKenzie and Allen’s second season. But it came about by playing cheaper stopgaps and a roster in transition. It was necessary slashing and burning before McKenzie could sow his desired seeds.
Dominating the draft in ‘14. In what may stand out as the best single class of any NFL team this decade, McKenzie got both the leader of his defense (Khalil Mack) and his offense (Derek Carr) with his first two picks. Although the dynamic pass rusher and efficient passer were the highlights, guard Gabe Jackson and nose tackle Justin Ellis, the next two picks, were just as important. The Raiders, long known for being too enamored with speedy skill-position players, returned to focusing on the gritty grunts under McKenzie. For Oakland to completely turn around, it needed to get back to running the ball and stopping the run. This was the foundation to be balanced offensively and defensively.
Dipping into Denver and Del Rio in ‘15. The AFC West arch rival Broncos made a big coaching change that helped them win a Super Bowl. The Raiders should thank them for that, because it made Del Rio available to replace Allen. Del Rio had plenty of appeal for the job as a former NFL head coach and standout NFL player who had helped build a championship-caliber defense. What shouldn’t be lost is that he also could bring some of the Broncos’ blueprint to Oakland. McKenzie landed Mack, but needed Del Rio to bring out Mack’s inner Von Miller. Del Rio was a bridge to offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, who could help Carr be the type of efficient West Coast quarterback McKenzie knew well in Green Bay. Many teams make the mistake of not hiring coaching staffs built to work well with the personnel. McKenzie made sure the Raiders didn’t.
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McKenzie also had the perfect complementary draft. Wide receiver Amari Cooper and tight end Clive Walford were targets tailored to Carr, while defensive end Mario Edwards Jr. was strong edge support for Mack. In free agency, that help came from wide receiver Michael Crabtree and defensive end Dan Williams. The team jumped from 3-13 to 7-9. Even more remarkable were the leaps in scoring offense (No. 31 to No. 17) and scoring defense (No. 32 to No. 22).
Shoring up the secondary in ‘16. McKenzie maintained his mojo in rebuilding the entire offense by spending on elite guard Kelechi Osemele to join Jackson and key free-agent pickups Donald Penn and Rodney Hudson on a powerful front line. The missing pieces, however, for the Raiders to turn the corner were at corner and safety. A fourth of the solution came in the middle of last season, when David Amerson, waived by Washington, quickly turned into a top cover man in Oakland. Two more parts were filled in free agency with a big veteran corner (Sean Smith) and a ballhawking veteran free safety (Reggie Nelson) to replace retiring Charles Woodson. Like the strongside linebacker he signed to flank Mack, Bruce Irvin, those veterans came from playoff defenses. All that allowed McKenzie to zone in on the final piece, thumping strong safety Karl Joseph with the the first-round pick. Only two weeks ago, Amerson was locked up long term, too.
It wasn’t easy for McKenzie to get to this point, but he was a man with a plan all along. He took care of the fronts, got the superstars around which to build and piled on the playmakers. With him, the Raiders have learned the “commitment to excellence” also requires a commitment to patience.
