ALAMEDA, CALIF. (AP) - The Oakland Raiders fired coach Hue Jackson on Tuesday after just one season at the helm in the first major move since Reggie McKenzie was hired as general manager.
The decision to get rid of Jackson came four days after the team announced the hiring of McKenzie as the team’s first general manager since the death of longtime owner Al Davis in October. McKenzie was to be formally introduced later Tuesday.
The firing was confirmed by a person with knowledge of the situation. It was first reported by ESPN.
The move marks a rapid fall for Jackson, who was in charge of personnel decisions and coaching after Davis died of heart failure on Oct. 8.
Jackson made the trade for quarterback Carson Palmer after starter Jason Campbell broke his collarbone, costing the Raiders a 2012 first-round draft pick and a conditional 2013 second-rounder.
While Palmer showed signs of giving the Raiders a big-time quarterback, he was unable to get Oakland to the playoffs for the first time since 2002, raising questions about how effective that trade was.
After starting the season 7-4, the Raiders lost four of their final five games to mark their ninth straight season without a winning record or a playoff berth. A late-game collapse at home to Detroit on Dec. 18 and a 38-26 loss to San Diego at home in the season finale did in the Raiders and ultimately Jackson.
Owner Mark Davis, Al’s son, made the decision to bring in McKenzie last week and gave him the authority over the coaching staff. McKenzie will now get to pick a new head coach, providing the Raiders a fresh start in their first full season without Al Davis involved since 1962.
Jackson talked at the end of the season about having more involvement in 2012, but instead he will have none.
“I’m going take a stronger hand in this whole team, this whole organization,” he said after the season finale. “There’s no way that I’m going to feel like I feel today a year from now. I promise you that. There’s no question. Defensively, offensively and special teams. I’m not feeling like this no more. This is a joke.”
Jackson joined the Raiders as offensive coordinator in 2010 under head coach Tom Cable and engineered a dramatic improvement as Oakland more than doubled its point total and improved to 8-8. That helped him get the job when Davis decided not to retain Cable.
The offense wasn’t quite as effective with Jackson as head coach as injuries to star running back Darren McFadden, receiver Jacoby Ford and Campbell played a part.
But the biggest problems this past season were an inability to curb the team’s propensity for penalties and on the defensive side of the ball. The team committed 163 penalties for 1,358 yards, setting records in both categories, as Jackson was unable to instill the discipline he promised.
The Raiders also had franchise worsts in touchdown passes allowed (31), yards per carry (5.1), yards passing (4,262) and total yards (6,201), while giving up the third-most points (433) in team history.
Oakland joined this season’s Tampa Bay team as two of the four teams to allow at least 30 TD passes and 5.0 yards per carry in a season, a distinction achieved previously by only the 1950 Baltimore Colts and 1952 Dallas Texans. The Raiders also became the sixth team since the 1970 merger to allow at least 2,000 yards rushing and 4,000 yards passing in a season.
McKenzie will now have the opportunity to bring in a whole new staff, overhaul the roster and change the scheme if he deems necessary. The new coach will be Oakland’s seventh in the past 10 seasons, following Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell, Lane Kiffin, Tom Cable and Jackson.
McKenzie, who had been director of football operations in Green Bay, is a former Raiders linebacker. He was well-respected for his role in helping to build a Super Bowl championship team with the Packers.
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AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this report
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