Silence over report that GM McKenzie could be departing
Raiders officials had no interest Sunday in discussing a CBS Sports report that general manager Reggie McKenzie will not return to the team next season.
The report said the Raiders will make changes to their scouting and football-operations staffs this offseason as part of an organization rebuild. The Raiders beat the Steelers 24-21 Sunday, but they remain tied for the worst record in the NFL at 3-10 in head coach Jon Gruden’s return to Oakland.
Owner Mark Davis said before Sunday’s game that he was aware of the report but had no comment. McKenzie did not comment on the report, and Gruden declined to address it directly after the win.
“I don’t have any comment on that,” Gruden said. “We’re going to build this team back, I know that. We’re going to bring the Raiders back. That’s all I’ll say.”
The dynamic between Gruden and McKenzie has been a point of speculation since Gruden was hired to a reported 10-year, $100 million deal in January. The Raiders’ roster has undergone heavy turnover, with only seven players drafted by McKenzie from 2012 through ’17 remaining on the active roster.
Gruden and McKenzie have insisted they have a good working relationship. After the Raiders traded edge rusher Khalil Mack to Chicago in September, Gruden bristled at a question about his relationship with McKenzie, saying: “People are trying to divide us.”
Following the trade of Amari Cooper to Dallas on Oct. 22, as part of his most recent comments to media, McKenzie addressed the idea that Gruden has authority over personnel decisions.
“You talk about pulling the strings — Gruden and I, we work together very well,” McKenzie said. “Let’s get no mistakes about him pushing me out. That’s not happening.” Quiet day: Pittsburgh receiver Antonio Brown, who entered Sunday’s game with 1,028 receiving yards, was held to a season-low 35 on five receptions.
“He’s a great receiver,” Raiders cornerback Gareon Conley said. “We had a plan to roll to his side. That’s what we did. Felt like we executed the plan.”
Gruden credited defensive coordinator Paul Guenther with preparing the Raiders’ defense for Brown, while acknowledging receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster had a big day with eight catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns.
“We did, I think, have a specific plan to make sure we try to hold Antonio Brown in some kind of check,” Gruden said. Favorable finish: Derek Carr deemed Sunday’s game “my second-favorite win ever.” The Raiders’ quarterback said it ranks behind last season’s 31-30 win over Kansas City, when Carr threw a game-winning touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree on an untimed down.
“If (the Steelers) were in our division, it would be first,” Carr said.
Carr set a franchise record Sunday with his eighth consecutive game without an interception. After throwing eight interceptions in his first five games, Carr has not been intercepted in his past 263 pass attempts. Briefly: With Pro Bowl left guard Kelechi Osemele inactive because of an toe injury, backup Jon Feliciano started at left guard. Feliciano, though, appeared to be limping late in the game and was doing so noticeably in the locker room afterward.
Defensive tackle Maurice Hurst, the Raiders’ leader with four sacks, was also inactive with an ankle injury. Running back C.J. Anderson — the Vallejo native and Cal alum who signed Tuesday — was a healthy inactive.