The team hired Reggie McKenzie as their general manager, fired Hue Jackson as their head coach, and hired Dennis Allen to replace him. They also let Al Saunders go, replacing the offensive coordinator with Greg Knapp.
At the moment they haven't hired anyone to replace Chuck Bresnahan as defensive coordinator, but I expect that to come soon as well.
The Raiders are clearly doing some restructuring, if not fully rebuilding.
It kind of amuses me how many Raiders fans are saying that Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen don't need to rebuild the team, just make some minor adjustments.
Really? Just minor adjustments?
While I agree a total rebuilding is not necessary, I believe the Raiders need more than some minor adjustments to become Super Bowl contenders.
After being 7-4 on December 2, they finished the season at 8-8 and missed the playoffs again. They also lead the league with 163 penalties for 1,358 penalty yards, one very good reason why they didn't make the playoffs. I'm pretty sure all those penalty yards and the lack of discipline associated with them had to cost the team at least one win. And one win more was all they needed to make the playoffs.
I know that part of the reason for the collapse at the end of the season can be attributed to the rash of injuries the team suffered. It is hard to overcome losing Darren McFadden for the last nine games of the season—10 if you take into account he only played a few downs in the loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. However, in my opinion, any team that depends on McFadden staying healthy for 16 games is in trouble for a couple reasons. McFadden is prone to injury and seems to be a slow healer, and let's f...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Oakland Raiders
