Raiders with a 10-year contract White Dan Hampton Jerseys , general manager Reggie McKenzie's longevity in the position was in serious doubt.That only eroded more with each departure of one of McKenzie's prized former draft picks and ended when he was fired Monday, less than two years after he was named the NFL's executive of the year.With the Raiders unable to build off that breakthrough 12-win season in 2016 and McKenzie's recent drafts failing to generate many impact players, the move to cut ties with McKenzie was made after Oakland beat Pittsburgh 24-21 for its third win of the season.McKenzie's influence with the Raiders had waned ever since the triumphant news conference to welcome Gruden back to Oakland in January. Gruden got rid of several of the players McKenzie had acquired, most notably edge rusher Khalil Mack and receiver Amari Cooper."I'm not going to sit up here today and talk about any disconnect," Gruden said. "We were connected. We were very good friends and very connected. I'll leave it at that."Gruden said owner Mark Davis informed McKenzie of the move and the Raiders only issued a brief statement thanking McKenzie for his time in Oakland and wishing him well."We won a game last night and I went home," Gruden said. "Obviously, there was a meeting last night and changes have been made. I respect everything that this organization is about. I can't exactly answer why the change was made last night, but changes were made, and we got to continue to fight and continue to build this team back and that's what we are going to do."Director of college scouting Shawn Herock will handle the GM duties during the search process.McKenzie was the first major hire made by Davis after he took over the team following the death of his father, Al, in 2011. McKenzie modernized the franchise, got the team out of salary cap purgatory, and built a roster that went 12-4 under coach Jack Del Rio in 2016, earning him honors as the league's top executive.But the Raiders slumped to a 6-10 record last season, leading Davis to fire Del Rio and get Gruden to take the hefty contract after years of courting.Gruden set out to overhaul the roster, trading away and cutting many of McKenzie's former draft picks. That accelerated a week before the start of the season when Mack was dealt to Chicago for a package including two first-round picks and then Cooper was dealt in October to Dallas for another first-round pick.With those deals Dan Hampton Jerseys 2019 , only nine players drafted by McKenzie from 2012 to 2017 remain on the active roster.Despite all that, McKenzie downplayed any rift in the relationship that dated back to the 1990s when both worked together in Green Bay."Gruden and I, we work together very well," McKenzie said after the Cooper trade. "Let's get no mistakes about him pushing me out. That's not happening. Me not being able to work with Gruden? That's furthest from the truth. OK?"The highlight of McKenzie's tenure came in the 2014 draft, when he put together the nucleus of Oakland's only playoff team since going to the Super Bowl following the 2002 campaign.He drafted Mack fourth overall and watched him develop into the 2016 AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year, got quarterback Derek Carr in the second round to end the more than decade-long revolving door at the position, and added several other key players, including guard Gabe Jackson and defensive tackle Justin Ellis later in the draft.Those players, teamed with an offensive line fortified by free agent signings center Rodney Hudson, guard Kelechi Osemele and tackle Donald Penn, made the Raiders a contender in 2016 before Carr broke his leg in a Week 16 win over Indianapolis. Oakland lost the division the following week and was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs against Houston.Carr was given a $125 million, five-year extension the following summer but the team regressed and the inability to get a long-term deal done with Mack led to a holdout this past summer and his eventual trade.The Raiders have struggled in Gruden's first year back on the sideline since being fired by Tampa Bay following the 2008 season. Oakland started the season 1-8 before winning two of the past four games. The Raiders (3-10) are tied with San Francisco and Arizona for the worst record in the league.With a likely top 10 pick of their own and two other first-rounders this year, along with two first-round picks next year, Gruden likely wanted his own people in place in the personnel department to make those moves."When you're 3-10, I'm not surprised with anything that happens in this league," Gruden said. "I've been fired. I've been traded. It's a horrible part of this business and I'm very sensitive to it." GREEN BAY White Richard Dent Jerseys , Wis. (AP) — The Green Bay Packers are debuting their own defensive changes this weekend against the Bears , even if they may not initially make as much of a splash as Chicago’s acquisition of star linebacker Khalil Mack.But the effectiveness of those new wrinkles could be just as important to the fortunes of a team looking to return to the playoffs.After playing it safe in the preseason, new defensive coordinator Mike Pettine can finally take the wraps off the Packers’ revamped scheme when the Bears visit Lambeau Field on Sunday night.“It just opens up everything,” linebacker Nick Perry said Thursday about the new defense. “I think from attacking it off the edge, attacking it inside, you have more options to attack.”The Packers ranked 22nd in defense last year. It was especially a problem given that quarterback Aaron Rodgers was limited to seven games because of a collarbone injury.Rodgers has the talent to be able cover up deficiencies in other areas of the team. With Rodgers out, everyone else had to step up. Instead, the Packers finished 7-9 and had its streak of eight straight postseason appearances snapped.Changes in the organization included the firing of longtime defensive coordinator Dom Capers. He was replaced by Pettine, the former head coach of the Cleveland Browns, who stuck with the 3-4 defense as the base scheme.So far, so good for the transition.“I know in preseason, we’re keeping it basic,” inside linebacker Blake Martinez said. “So it’ll be cool to kind of dive into the playbook on Sunday and see how we kind of compete and get the job done.”They will be expected to get pressure with just four outside linebackers on the roster. Perry and fellow veteran Clay Matthews will be backed up by Reggie Gilbert, who emerged in the preseason to become the top reserve; and Kyler Fackrell, a third-round draft pick in 2016.“It’s a demand,” Perry said. “But at the end of the day Richard Dent Jerseys 2019 , the big guys have got to kind of take the big load. That’s what they pay us for.”More pressure might come from up front. Green Bay added Muhammad Wilkerson as a free agent in the offseason, making the line perhaps the strongest position group on the team. Stalwarts Mike Daniels and Kenny Clark lead the front, along with emerging third-year player Dean Lowry and promising second-year pro Montravius Adams.More inside pressure might lead to more 1-on-1 opportunities on the outside. And that’s assuming that Pettine isn’t disguising from where the pressure might come on a particular play. Even Rodgers has been impressed this preseason by some different looks on defense.“We can line up in different spots and attack you. I don’t think we’re just going to sit there in spots and let people try to pick us apart,” Clark said. “I feel like if Aaron is saying it, you can only imagine how other quarterbacks can struggle with it.”A more effective pass rush can also have the effect of forcing quarterbacks into making bad throws, which in turn could lead to better pass coverage, which was another problem area in 2017.A cornerback group prone to injury the last two seasons has also been revamped, with veteran Tramon Williams returning to provide leadership. The Packers also took promising rookies Jaire Alexander and Josh Jackson with their first two picks in the draft.Matthews estimated that the Packers showed just 5 percent of the defensive playbook during preseason games.“We definitely have a number of pressures, base defenses, little wrinkles that we like to think will play in our favor,” Matthews said. “At the end of the day, we’re going out there and playing defense, and the name of the game is tackling the ball. That doesn’t change.”
