Barber: Jon Gruden’s fingerprints on Reggie McKenzie’s firing

ALAMEDA

There was a casualty at Raiders headquarters Monday, but no one was confessing.

Head coach Jon Gruden, the primary suspect in Reggie McKenzie’s firing, apparently had a watertight alibi.

“We won a game last night and I went home,” Gruden told investigators - pardon me … reporters - at his regular Monday press conference. “Obviously, there was a meeting last night and changes have been made. … I can’t exactly answer why the change was made last night, but changes were made.”

Gruden was basically saying, “I was at the opera, and here is a list of 17 witnesses who will corroborate the story.”

So then, was it team owner Mark Davis who axed McKenzie, the man he had hired as general manager in January of 2012? We don’t know yet. If Gruden produced an alibi, Davis went on the lam. He was nowhere to be seen Monday as the coach fielded the uncomfortable questions. And the short press release that the team sent around - the football equivalent of a ransom note pasted together from words cut out of magazines - was unsigned.

Really, though, there isn’t much reason to dust for fingerprints. The firing of Reggie McKenzie wasn’t a professional murder so much as a euthanization. McKenzie was on unsteady footing the minute Gruden signed a 10-year, $100 million contract. And all the clues pointed to the GM eventually being shown the door. Gruden repeatedly bad-mouthed McKenzie’s draft picks and traded two of the most prominent, Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper, before the season was halfway done.

The only question was when the break would come. And the answer came Monday.

The bigger issue still looms, though. McKenzie’s tenure in Oakland was spotty, and not on the upswing. Though he’s an honorable man, the Raiders can survive his absence. But what comes next? Who comes next?

Gruden and the Raiders gave few clues. The press release stated that the team would immediately begin the search for “a new front office executive,” but did not specifically refer to that person as a general manager. Gruden confirmed that director of player personnel Joey Clinkscales is still on the payroll, and that the team is going to “lean on” director of college scouting Shaun Herock, and that Dave Razzano is one of many personnel assistants in the building. And that was about it.

“I know Mark is going to accumulate a list of names and candidates, and I’m sure we will discuss those people later this week,” Gruden said, “but right now I don’t have any idea.”

If McKenzie’s ouster was an inevitability, this still represents a crossroads for the Raiders. The person they choose to fill the top personnel position, and the way they structure the job, will have huge bearing on the immediate future. In fact, it may define Gruden’s second stint in the organization.

The assumption is that this latest development solidifies Gruden’s grip on the team, that he will be both coach and GM - judge and jury, if you will - moving forward. Do the Raiders understand this would be a mistake?

Look around the NFL, and you might convince yourself it’s a good idea to consolidate scouting and coaching power in the hands of one man. The guys who currently enjoy such a monopoly are Bill Belichick of the Patriots, Andy Reid of the Chiefs, Pete Carroll of the Seahawks and Sean Payton of the Saints. (The 49ers’ Kyle Shanahan and Houston’s Bill O’Brien are close.) Those are four really good coaches. They have combined to win seven Super Bowls. The cumulative records of their teams heading into Seattle’s Monday-night game was 38-13. Where do we sign up?

The thing is, there’s no reason to believe Gruden is cut from the same cloth. He was in charge of personnel in Tampa Bay from 2004, after he won a power struggle with former GM Rich McKay, through 2008. And while Gruden the coach won a Super Bowl by beating the Raiders, Gruden the GM didn’t win many admirers.

He scored an A by drafting cornerback Aqib Talib with the No. 20 overall pick in 2008, and came away with rock-solid guards in Davin Joseph (first round, 2006) and Jeremy Zuttah (third round, 2008). Linebacker Geno Hayes (sixth round, 2008) was a lower-round steal.

Those sorts of gems were outweighed by Gruden’s misses in Tampa, though. He took defensive end Gaines Adams with the fourth overall pick in 2007, and the guy was out of the league three years later. Another first-rounder, wide receiver Michael Clayton, had 1,193 receiving yards as a rookie in 2004, but never again broke 500. A 2005 third-rounder, tackle Chris Colmer, hurt his shoulder and never played a down in the NFL. A 2008 second-rounder, wide receiver Dexter Jackson, played one year as a kick returner and never caught a pass.

Gruden’s Tampa trades, to be fair, look pretty good in retrospect. He shipped Keyshawn Johnson for Joey Galloway in a straight-up receiver swap in 2004, and traded deteriorating defensive tackle Booger McFarland for a second-rounder in 2006.

Chucky’s free-agent signings in Tampa wouldn’t overshadow McKenzie’s in Oakland. His first class of free agents, in 2004, included offensive lineman Derrick Deese, running back Charlie Garner, offensive tackle Todd Steussie and wide receiver Bill Schroeder. Each was 32 or older. Later that year, Gruden added 38-year-old Tim Brown. Steussie was the only one who made it past the ’04 season, and not by much.

Hell, just look at Gruden’s acquisitions this year. Davis gave him the power to hand-pick players, but GM Gruden couldn’t deliver for Coach Gruden. Guys like Derrick Johnson, Tank Carradine, Breno Giacomo, Martavis Bryant and Shareece Wright have come and gone while making hardly a ripple in the waters. Veteran wide receiver Jordy Nelson hasn’t really compensated for Michael Crabtree, let alone Amari Cooper.

Here’s what I really fear: Bruce Allen. He worked with Gruden during the coach’s first go-round in Oakland, and followed him to Tampa after McKay left. And while Allen is known as an able contract negotiator and a glib press-conference front man, no one ever confused him with Gil Brandt when it comes to talent evaluation. He is in Washington now; that team is 41-68 since he arrived in 2010.

Allen co-existed with Gruden because he is primarily a Yes Man. That’s not what the Raiders need. They need someone who can go toe-to-toe with Gruden and occasionally outwrestle him. If Allen returns to Oakland, we’ll know that Gruden’s power is absolute. And the Raiders will probably be in store for a run of modern-day Gaines Adamses and Dexter Jacksons.

You can reach columnist Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.