Raiders Quotes: Gruden on McKenzie Firing

Whether you agree with the Raiders firing Reggie McKenzie or not, you must admit the strange nature of the quotes. After the team relieved McKenzie of his duties, Jon Gruden met with the media to discuss. While Gruden’s quotes usually, lean towards the odd, today’s felt rather pointed and all over the place. Therefore, here are non-literal translations of the quotes.

“I’m not going to sit up here and talk about any disconnect”, “We were connected.We’re very good friends and very connected”

Granted, McKenzie and Gruden share a long history in the NFL. Their paths crossed in Green Bay. Now, the intriguing part lies resides with the disconnect. Obviously, some discord existed. If it did not, Reggie McKenzie would still sit in Alameda. Whether they remain friendly, should not matter to fans. However, Gruden has rubbed general managers the wrong way in the past. Remember, Rich McKay left for Tampa after their Super Bowl victory.

“We all work for the same man.”

While this statement holds a kernel of truth, look at the big picture. When Mark Davis inherited the team from his father, he asked Ron Wolf, and John Madden to advise him on a general manager search. Overall, Mark Davis did not inherit his father’s football savvy and aptitude. Now, if the quote is to be believed, Mark Davis evolved into a hardline, take-no-prisoners owner overnight? Basically, a carbon copy of his father? This one doesn’t feel right. However, another scintilla of truth exists deep in this quote. If someone advised Davis on the move and he signed off, theoretically, this would not be a complete fabrication.

“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 obviously, 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.”

Again, this quote feels like plausible deniability. That means, while Gruden may not have been present during the meeting, slim chance exists that he did not know what would transpire. In essence, if Gruden would have stopped the quote after discussing the changes part, few could really call into question the validity of the statement as a whole. Under those circumstances, the more words, the more suspicion exist.

In reality, the Raiders fired Reggie McKenzie. Whether you wholeheartedly believe Jon Gruden or not remains a matter of personal interpretation. While some of his quote ring somewhat true, others appear to lack absolute truth. Yet, we will never know to what extent.