GameDay: Sparano Hiring Short-Term Solution For Raiders' Long-Term Problems
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- Reggie McKenzie looked like a poster boy for a Southwest Airlines commercial. "Wanna get away?"
McKenzie wanted not part of this news conference. He spoke without authority, conviction, or passion. Perhaps he knows the end game. Perhaps he's already called a moving company.
He was hired after Al Davis died and was given the responsibility of rebuilding Raider Nation reduced to rubble. Hasn't happen, and likely not going to under his watch.
Dennis Allen was the fall guy for a mess McKenzie created, and Al Davis before him. When asked about the current roster that McKenzie himself assembled, he said it could win football games.
That now falls on interim coach Tony Sparano, who was once the toast of the town in Miami for turning the Dolphins from a loser to an 11-5 playoff team in just his first year. If he doesn't turn it around quickly in Oakland, he'll just be toast.
Mark Davis believes the Raiders are in good shape financially because they will be "$60-$65 million" under the cap next year. His theory is cap space will entice the next candidate to come to Oakland. Maybe they should rename the coliseum "Fantasyland."
Speaking of Fantasyland, the most prudent strategy to convince voters to approve a new stadium is to win football games. The latest coaching quagmire doesn't exactly inspire visions of luxury suites and 90-foot Jumbotrons. You think the 49ers would have pushed Levi's through if Harbaugh's boys had gone 4-12?
A famous California politician once said, "You don't have Nixon to kick around anymore." Using Al Davis as a scapegoat is no longer in play. The future of the Raiders in Oakland depends on the decision making of Mark Davis.
The next one has to be better.
See you on TV.
