Well, initially, I was pretty pissed. Firing a first year coach who just missed the playoffs with a depleted roster and a terrible defense? Another coach fired? Bringing in a Packer? Since the press conference I have to say, I'm not as angry. I liked Hue Jackson. He was a strong willed personality and given time I think he could have at least taken us to the AFC championship game. I liked most of his play calls and his trust in his play makers. Did he make mistakes, hell yes. Such are the mistakes that many rookie coaches make. Still, for whatever reason he rubbed many in the Nation the wrong way, in one short year. So where do we stand now? More after the jump.

The future looks very promising. McKenzie is a pretty good hire right now. He is well respected and from a proven winner. His reputation is without flaw. However for everyone that says he is guaranteed to bring respect back to this organization is full of shit. It is his first GM job period. He is no longer just an assistant, he is now responsible for the entire football team. The job will require a learning curve. I think he sounds capable of handling this, then again I thought Hue was capable of handling the HC position. Time will tell for McKenzie and the Raiders.

The defense requires a ton of change. From coaching to players, things need to change. McKenzie needs to pick the right coach to start his era. Not just for the sake of his job, but for the sake of the franchise. If we fire another coach for going 7-9 or 8-8 then we will never make progress. The right coach will bring in the right coordinators and the right personnel to fix this. Moss and Gruden are prominent rumors, but none of us will know until they announce it. This is a significant part of bringing change. It is easy to fire people for previous results, it is not easy to hire someone who can/will bring success.

If he brings in the right coach, whom ever that is, success could happen. Our team is on the verge in my opinion. Offensively at least. However our schedule is tough next year and the AFC West will have gotten better. The Chargers, even with Turner, will still be the favorite again. Tebow will have gotten better and the Chiefs will have their running backs back. It will not be a cake walk.

I would prefer a proven coach. I wouldn't mind Gruden, as he is still very popular here and seems to work well with QB's. Cowher seems unrealistic, and so does Dungy, but I wouldn't say no if they came :P I was also kind of hoping Jimmy Johnson would get out of the booth and come coach us but that too seems ridiculous. In the end, it may very well be Winston Moss. He may be the answer, but then again so was Hue. If we do get Moss, then I can only hope we don't regress. If he is given time I bet he could succeed. Then again, this is the Raiders and if you don't win 9 games your job is in jeopardy. No excuses.

I will remain optimistic and excited for the next year. The NFL is always changing and every year teams have a chance to win it all. I just hope all of you are patient. The year may seem kind of long next year. In one short year a lot of you turned on Hue after the Patriots game. Many turned on Palmer after his first game. It is the fickle fan in us all. Hopefully we all stay united in supporting McKenzie and whom ever he hires to coach this dysfunctional team. Hopefully we remain patient with the coaching staff and fully blame the players more next year. The future is pretty bright, more so than I would have thought. Who will be the right coach Raider Nation?