McKenzie says 'the culture will change' in Oakland

[Jimi18]

Link: Q&A: Former Packers' exec McKenzie says 'the culture will change' in Oakland - JSOnline

Mobile, Ala. --- For 18 years, Reggie McKenzie had been a mainstay in Green Bay. From 1994 to 2012, McKenzie grew from a scout to director of player personnel to director of football operations. Now, he's finally running the show in Oakland. McKenzie's first year as the Oakland Raiders' general manager was reminiscent of Ted Thompson's first year as G.M. in Green Bay. Both teams went 4-12.

As McKenzie explains, rebuilding the Raiders starts from the inside out. Here's what the Raiders boss had to say about taking over, trying to instill a new culture in Oakland and a potential change at quarterback:

Q: How has it been taking over your own team?

McKenzie: “Coming off the season we had, you’re judged by wins and losses. Coming up with four wins is not good enough. But even going into, I knew what we had to get done. We’re trying to change a lot of things around here, starting with the culture. We have a rookie coach, we have a rookie G.M. We kind of took our bumps here. We’re getting the players we need to get in here, getting the salary cap together. I’ve got almost a full arsenal of draft picks. I’m missing my two and five. Wish I could have those. We’ll find a way to get this thing done.

“Let me tell you something — we’re moving in the right direction. And it’s all about making good decisions. We have a good core of players right now. We’re making sure we get the right fit of 53 players by the end of this whole process so we can start the season ready to roll.”

Q: What did you learn in Green Bay with Ted Thompson?

McKenzie: “It’s all about building your team — build your staff, build your locker room, put the right kind of people in. They want to be Raiders. They want to win. And it’s all about the team. We had that in Green Bay.”

Q: How do you change the culture?

McKenzie: “It takes time. You can change moving parts and all that. But to change the culture, that’s going to take some time. I’m trying to get that back. I’m trying to get the Raider Way back. And we’re going to get it done. But you change it day by day. You can’t just quickly overhaul everything. That’s not going to change anything.”

Q: So it's about the minor changes?

McKenzie: “That helps, that helps. I’m going to continue to do that. We made some changes with the staff, which is the way we need to go. That’s going to help that process. We’re going to get this thing rolling. It’s going to be fine now. The culture will change.”

Q: What's the culture you want?

McKenzie: “When people look at us, they’re going to see professionalism. They’re going to see a winning attitude. They’re going to be a part of a winning atmosphere. They’re going to see our brand of football, which is physical, tough, high-energy play. I want people to be excited to go see a Raider game. So that’s what we’re trying to get to.”

Q: Will Terrelle Pryor have a chance to start this year?

McKenzie: “I want Terrelle to get a shot to show himself at quarterback. I told the whole staff, everybody’s going to compete for their job. So he’s competing for his job. Whether he’s 1, 2 or 3, he’s competing for his job. Starter, that’ll be carried out by coaches at the end of training camp. Show me you’re competitive. You want to get better. We’ll see how it goes.”

[KrimzonR8R]

I do NOT envy that man. Him and all the staff there have a huge job trying to make that organization winners. It's gonna take awhile but I believe RM is the guy that can pull it off

He's right though, it takes everyone being on the same page and getting some credibility back. Right now the fans don't trust this team and the media is gonna scrutinize every move this team makes

Hope we can get back to winning and watch some great Raider football again soon

[Ayso]

Straight forward and true. It takes time, cannot overturn a culture of a team in 1 year after having the decades of corruption we had. R.I.P. Al, but he really put the Raiders in a hole.

I believe and trust Reggie McKenzie and Dennis Allen. Rookies or not (which they aren't anymore), they're the right men for the job. We'll get rolling with our offense next year and hopefully be a little dangerous. If we can score in the red-zone and get our WR's actually catching balls then we can do some damage. Now that McFadden has his Power Scheme back (not only he was used to, but the Linemen, too) I feel we're going to be pretty dangerous.

Dennis Allen is doing good things with the defense and we need to give him more time to get players / coach the current ones up. We saw progress and improvement with the Defense with different players. We're not too far off from being competitive (When I say competitive I don't mean playoffs. I mean actually looking like a team and not getting blown out every game)

Time is what every coach needs. Not everyone is Jim Harbaugh (although I'd argue the fact that he got put into a situation with an obvious more amount of talent than the Raiders ever sniffed in the past 8 years) and can turn around a team in 1 year. Most coaches take 2 - 4 years if not longer. Time is what the Raiders need to change the culture and I believe it'll happen.

[djh_raider]

Different take on Pryor than what has been reported/posted previously.

Per Reggie: "he’s competing for his job" and repeated it in the next sentence.

Reading between the lines, Pryor is NOT competing for the starting role. He IS competing to remain on this roster.

[Chiefhater]

I hope Mark Davis shows the patience to see this thing through. Hopefully we'll be at least more competitive this year to help show progress is being made.

[OWShaddock]

Different take on Pryor than what has been reported/posted previously.

Per Reggie: "he’s competing for his job" and repeated it in th next sentence.

Reading between the lines, Pryor is NOT competing for the starting role. He IS competing to remain on this roster.

I read that differently. My take is that whether starter or a backup (or, as RM said, whether 1, 2 or 3), a player is always competing for his job.
And, IMO, that's the way it should be.

[Raidermofojeff]

Sucks big time not having that 2 and 5.......but it beats the hell out of our last off season....
The draft is so key......You keep your picks and use them wisely, something special will emerge....Much like the Raiders of the 70s......the core of which was built on great draft picks........

[Raidersman321]

As I've said before, this next draft class is setting foundation for the future...Very excited about the off-season hires on offense and special teams...I believe RM can evaluate talent and get us the talent and get put us in position to win. Love his mentality.

[djh_raider]

I read that differently. My take is that whether starter or a backup (or, as RM said, whether 1, 2 or 3), a player is always competing for his job.
And, IMO, that's the way it should be.

Do not disagree there, OW.

However, a great deal has been made of Reggie supposedly saying that Pryor will be competing with Palmer to start. This quote from Reggie provides a different perspective to that.

[HITMAN]

Refreshing to actually see the powers that be have a plan... not this let's see what sticks philosophy

[foodisgood70]

It's just my opinion, but RM is going about this the right way. You don't create a perennial winner over night.

[smucky]

A leader of the Raiders who wants to keep his draft picks. A refreshing change.

[HITMAN]

It's just my opinion, but RM is going about this the right way. You don't create a perennial winner over night.

Not according to the RFN experts...

[Brazy]

In Reggie We Trust!

[djh_raider]

Not according to the RFN experts...

Yeah but the peanut gallery and those in the nose bleeds are regularly wrong for some reason (something about being unable to see a bigger picture or something)....