Reggie McKenzie to the Raiders

[okcpackerfan]

From ESPN

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7...ers-hire-reggie-mckenzie-green-bay-packers-gm

"The Oakland Raiders will hire Green Bay Packers director of football operations Reggie McKenzie as their next general manager, according to a league source."

 

[okcpackerfan]

The unfortunate side of being a good team is that everyone wants your personnel. I think this is a substantial loss.

 

[Jules]

I was kinda hoping he could go to the Colts when the playoffs were over so WTF. Raiders are rushing here big time. And Palmer stinks so good luck with that. That trade was freaking atrocious.

Also I heard the Pats OC was hired by Penn St.

 

[ivo610]

Not sure I would leave for a job where you have no draft picks and are attached to a questionable QB

 

[Jules]

This is very lame.

Not thrilled. He leaves the Packers=not good. But, he goes to the Raiders=not good.

Poop.

 

[okcpackerfan]

reminds me a lot of the implosion of the coaching staff after the 1996 season.

 

[dogpackerz]

Mckenzie will want to bring in his own Coach(s).
Hopefully he doesnt take Tom Clemonts and Philbon, etc....... with him.

GO PACK GO

 

[Lunchboxer]

I dont view it as a big loss.

We still got the meat and bones of this operation.

 

[TJV]

IMO it’s very difficult for those of us outside the organization to know how big a loss this is. How involved was McKenzie in the details of talent evaluation? Is he more of a manager who allocates responsibility or is his style more “hands on”? Was he more involved with the pro- or college-player evaluation? Will John Dorsey able to take on his responsibilities without missing a beat? If so, is someone ready to take on Dorsey’s? I don’t know the answer to any of these questions and that’s my point: We just don’t know.

My guess is the loss of Holmgren, along with the personnel he raided was a bigger loss than this will be, if McKenzie doesn’t take a lot of front office people and/or coaches with him. I heard Jason Wilde say he believes McKenzie will take Eliot Wolf (Ron’s son) with him, but will that be the extent of the damage? (BTW, Wolf was promoted because another team came after him last year.) Even if McKenzie and the Raiders don’t “raid” the front office and coaching staffs, other teams may. The only comfort I find in any of this is Thompson and McCarthy, the two most important people in the organization IMO will be staying and I’ll bet each is very well prepared for this situation.

 

[Bagadeez04]

Excellent point...who knows how good this guy is or if it will hurt the team so why bother to speculate? Us fans don't really know what goes on behind closed doors in the front office...unless someone has an inside scoop.

It's going to be tough for him with no draft picks until the fifth round this year, and a couple others they've traded away next year as well. Also he will have to deal with the Hue Jackson situation...he doen't seem like a happy camper that McKenzie was brought in.

The big thing to me is what happens with Eliot Wolf. Who knows if he's any good or not either, but supposedly he's being groomed to be the next GM or something, and there has been speculation that McKenzie would bring him to the Raiders.

 

[13 Times Champs]

We still got TT and that's the critical piece.

 

[PackersRS]

reminds me a lot of the implosion of the coaching staff after the 1996 season.

I'm a little worried, not gonna lie, but he wasn't with the coaching staff. He's with management.

His leave won't affect what happens in the postseason at all. If Philbin leaves, then it's another story...

All reports are that he's a terrific talent evaluator and that the Raiders struck gold. But he's getting into a tough situation, no doubt. Hope they have patience with him.

 

[PackFanNChiTown]

In Ted We Trust, I wouldn't be surprised if Ted hasn't already found a replacement, possibly from within.

This a natural course when you're the best in the league, people want to hire members of your staff in the hopes of making their team better.

I'm happy for Mr. McKenzie, IMHO he should have been a GM long ago. I think it was always tough for him as he was often interviewed by other clubs in order to comply with the Rooney Rule.

 

[Forget Favre]

Not sure I would leave for a job where you have no draft picks and are attached to a questionable QB

There must be something in the Green Bay water that makes coaches and staff leave a championship winning team to go and work for other teams that have yet to win a big one.
Mike Holmgren and Andy Reid come to mind.

 

[TJV]

The jsonline has a story tonight that speculates Eliot Wolf may get McKenzie’s job – if that happens, that will be one of the quickest ascensions up a teams corporate ladder – he’s only 29. In any event, the story says Wolf won’t be leaving.

As far as people leaving for promotions to HC or HC/GM that’s obviously not unique to Green Bay. Those jobs usually open up on teams that aren’t doing very well at the time of the job opening. Anyone waiting for the perfect opportunity may find himself waiting for a very long time. IMO if McKenzie has total control over football operations and something like a 5-year contract he'll have a chance to succeed in spite of the lost picks.

 

[Eric87]

There must be something in the Green Bay water that makes coaches and staff leave a championship winning team to go and work for other teams that have yet to win a big one.
Mike Holmgren and Andy Reid come to mind.

I don't know, maybe they have faith in their own abilities and think they can succeed at other places. And maybe they want to be promoted to higher positions that won't be available in the place they're at. This is just something that comes with winning. It's hard to be bitter considering Ron Wolf learned his trade with the Raiders.

 

[Forget Favre]

I don't know, maybe they have faith in their own abilities and think they can succeed at other places. And maybe they want to be promoted to higher positions that won't be available in the place they're at. This is just something that comes with winning. It's hard to be bitter considering Ron Wolf learned his trade with the Raiders.

I think your right that the coaches feel like there is something missing for them in Green Bay.
Didn't Holmgren leave because he also wanted more control? To be GM as well?
If that was the case then he looks greedy in my eyes.
But look where he has ended up.
With a team that is in the cellar, heck, they are at least 3-4 feet below the cellar floor year after year after year.

Since I'm just an outsider, I don't get why they feel the need to leave if they are being successful already.
One doesn't really need hundreds of thousands or millions to live a comfortable life style.

I preferred it last year when the Packers were getting opposing coaches fired.
But now this year somehow they are getting their own coaches to resign?
Somethin just ain't right with this picture.

 

[neilfii]

I am happy for these guys. Most of them did not get into coaching to be assistants: they got into it to advance and progress up the ladder. The "ladder" is what it is and what it has always been and it usually doesn't go straight up in the same organization. Advancing in the coaching ranks in the NFL almost always means advancing in the ranks of other teams.
As a fan, I wish they would all stay together and provide continuity, but many came here from somewhere else and I can't fault them for going somewhere else if that is what they feel is necessary to get their "shot." If we are what we are supposed to be we will draw up and coming talent that is as good or can potentially become even better.
I think our quarterback success has a lot to do with our coaching staff. In a way we may be a quarterback "factory." If our coaches keep doing as they have perhaps we could become known as a coaching "factory." Nothing wrong with that. IMHO

 

[TJV]

It’s greedy to get into coaching with the goal of becoming an NFL head coach; or to get into management and/or personnel with the goal of becoming an NFL GM? I couldn’t disagree more, in the vast majority of cases, it has nothing to do with greed. Why would someone begrudge another who worked hard and earned a promotion? Mike McCarthy was making good money as the OC in San Francisco and Ted Thompson was making good money in the front office of the Seahawks: Were they greedy for pursuing and accepting their current positions in Green Bay?

Vince Lombardi was born in Brooklyn, NY and spent the first 45 years of his life on the east coast. After being passed up for head coaching spots as an assistant coach with the NY Giants he was finally offered the job in Green Bay. As Packers fans should know, the Packers were 1-10-1 in 1958, the year before Lombardi arrived. Was he greedy for wanting to be a HC? He had no previous connection to Green Bay so was he being disloyal to the NY Giants for wanting to fulfill his lifetime aspiration? Was he foolish to accept a job from a team which had spent the last decade “at least 3-4 feet below the cellar floor”, the “Siberia” of the NFL?

Of course we prefer the Packers front office and coaching staffs remain intact, but IMO Packers fans should enjoy the “envy” of other organizations as they attempt to lure the Packers’ front office personnel, members of their coaching staff and their players. When other organizations recognize the talent accumulated in Green Bay, it is a sign that something is exactly right with “this picture”: It’s the price of success and the Packers are one of the most successful organizations in the league.

Financial rewards often accompany achievement in one’s chosen field of endeavor, at least in this country. That does not mean everyone who achieves is greedy. Instead it’s an indication of a meritocracy, where people of ability have the opportunity to advance based upon their ability, rather than social class, or wealth, or some other lucky accident of birth. In fact, the more individuals who achieve, the more who come closest to maximizing their potential is not only beneficial to the achievers and their families, it’s better for the society in which they live. At least that’s my opinion…

 

[weeds]

Good post, ThxJack. I too believe that it's not greed ... it's more like 'the need to succeed'. Make no mistake, there will always be a high level of 'ego' involved and rightly so. That is not a bad thing in professional football and not a bad thing in what is referred to as 'the real world'.

Ron Wolf surely taught Ted Thompson in the importance of having a qualified candidate in place or at least in the hopper -- at least that is what Wolf wrote in his book (I questioned that a LOT when he hired Ray Rhodes..but hey...). Anyway, in the real world, a successful business person will always be training his replacement and in the process of doing so, could very likely be grooming his own replacement when and if he/she slips up. (That said, I wish the Board of Directors would allow me to hire and train MY replacement so I won't feel guilty about hangin' 'er up. )

 

[Greenbayphil]

We still have the heart of this coaching staff.

TT
MM
DC

They ain't going anywhere.