ALAMEDA – Raiders head coach Jon Gruden beat the Pittsburgh Steelers, decompressed some with his team and headed on home following a job well done.
Owner Mark Davis had a different itinerary.
He met with Reggie McKenzie and told general manager his time was up. He could finish the season or walk away right now. McKenzie chose the latter.
Gruden said Monday he didn't know what would transpire in that meeting.
"We won a game last night and I went home," Gruden said in his weekly press conference. "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 this change was made last night, but changes were made. We have to continue to fight, and build this team back. That's what we're going to do."
When asked directly whether firing McKenzie was a Davis decision, Gruden inferred that it was.
"We all work for the same man," Gruden said.
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Gruden said he wasn't sure if he would be involved in the interview process, though sources have said the head coach/Raiders football czar will have a say in the hired. It is believed that the hire will be someone Gruden knows well and trusts.
While he said he didn't know exactly what was going down, Gruden wasn't surprised by the move.
"I didn't have a sense of it," Gruden said. "I was in a dark shaft room trying to get ready for the next game. This is all somewhat surprising. There has been a lot of speculation and rumor coming out of here since early in the season. You don't know what's real, what's smoke and what's fire. We have made a change and we have to respond, and (respond) we will."
The Raiders will hire a new personnel executive, though that person won't necessarily be given the general manager title. Gruden was set to meet with scouts on Monday afternoon, and said he'll continue to show confidence in those on staff has the Raiders head into the offseason and ever closer to a pivotal NFL draft armed with three first-round draft picks.
Director of player personnel Joey Clinkscales remains employed at this time. Gruden said that director of college scouting Shaun Herock will play a pivotal over the next few months.
"He's a talented personnel man with a lot of Raiders history," Gruden said. "He's our college scouting director, and we have a lot of good scouts. We have a lot of picks in this draft, so his leadership will be important. I expect him to be a big part of the organization moving forward."
