McKenzie says 'the culture will change' in Oakland

[blazin1]

Mobile, Ala. --- For 18 years, Reggie McKenzie had been a mainstay in Green Bay. From 1994 to 2012, McKenzie grew from a scout to director of player personnel to director of football operations. Now, he's finally running the show in Oakland. McKenzie's first year as the Oakland Raiders' general manager was reminiscent of Ted Thompson's first year as G.M. in Green Bay. Both teams went 4-12.

As McKenzie explains, rebuilding the Raiders starts from the inside out. Here's what the Raiders boss had to say about taking over, trying to instill a new culture in Oakland and a potential change at quarterback:

Q: How has it been taking over your own team?

McKenzie: “Coming off the season we had, you’re judged by wins and losses. Coming up with four wins is not good enough. But even going into, I knew what we had to get done. We’re trying to change a lot of things around here, starting with the culture. We have a rookie coach, we have a rookie G.M. We kind of took our bumps here. We’re getting the players we need to get in here, getting the salary cap together. I’ve got almost a full arsenal of draft picks. I’m missing my two and five. Wish I could have those. We’ll find a way to get this thing done.

“Let me tell you something — we’re moving in the right direction. And it’s all about making good decisions. We have a good core of players right now. We’re making sure we get the right fit of 53 players by the end of this whole process so we can start the season ready to roll.”

Q: What did you learn in Green Bay with Ted Thompson?

McKenzie: “It’s all about building your team — build your staff, build your locker room, put the right kind of people in. They want to be Raiders. They want to win. And it’s all about the team. We had that in Green Bay.”

Q: How do you change the culture?

McKenzie: “It takes time. You can change moving parts and all that. But to change the culture, that’s going to take some time. I’m trying to get that back. I’m trying to get the Raider Way back. And we’re going to get it done. But you change it day by day. You can’t just quickly overhaul everything. That’s not going to change anything.”

Q: So it's about the minor changes?

McKenzie: “That helps, that helps. I’m going to continue to do that. We made some changes with the staff, which is the way we need to go. That’s going to help that process. We’re going to get this thing rolling. It’s going to be fine now. The culture will change.”

Q: What's the culture you want?

McKenzie: “When people look at us, they’re going to see professionalism. They’re going to see a winning attitude. They’re going to be a part of a winning atmosphere. They’re going to see our brand of football, which is physical, tough, high-energy play. I want people to be excited to go see a Raider game. So that’s what we’re trying to get to.”

Q: Will Terrelle Pryor have a chance to start this year?

McKenzie: “I want Terrelle to get a shot to show himself at quarterback. I told the whole staff, everybody’s going to compete for their job. So he’s competing for his job. Whether he’s 1, 2 or 3, he’s competing for his job. Starter, that’ll be carried out by coaches at the end of training camp. Show me you’re competitive. You want to get better. We’ll see how it goes.”

LINK: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/188249931.html

[DeadRinger]

Crock of shit. Reggie doesn't know what a "culture" is, much less how to create one.

[Tenebrous]

If last season is any indicator, I am not buying it either. There was a lot of talk about DA and Knapp, etc, how did that work out?

[Del]

Every man every year says their gonna change the culture.