Raiders Talk To L.A. Stadium Groups As They Search For New Home

The Raiders have "long been considered a candidate to relocate back to Los Angeles, and Tuesday new owner Mark Davis officially put them in play," according to Sam Farmer of the L.A. TIMES. Davis said that it is "essential that the Raiders get a new stadium and that the organization has had conversations with L.A. stadium groups." He said yesterday, "We've got to get a stadium. We've got to get that done. ... We can't compete for a lot of the players that other teams can, at times." He added, "We're trying to get something done up here, but if we can't, we've got to get something done somewhere because we need to be able to compete. And that's where it's at" (L.A. TIMES, 1/11). Davis said that Raiders Chief Exec Amy Trask "had been dealing with Northern California sites." Davis: "And I've been looking at certain places up here in Northern California, but I've also been talking to people in Southern California, that have talked to me. We're trying to get something done here." Asked if there is an offer to go to L.A., Davis said, "There's offers on the table, but I wouldn't talk about them. If there was an offer that we liked, we would've taken it. Let me put it that way. And there's not" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/10). Davis said yesterday, "Yeah, Los Angeles is a possibility. Wherever's a possibility. We need a stadium" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/11).

MCKENZIE LETS DAVIS FOCUS ON STADIUM: In L.A., Vincent Bonsignore notes hiring GM Reggie McKenzie is a "key step in the Raiders' stadium process." It "allows Davis to devote his attention to getting the Raiders out of their outdated facility and into a new home." Bonsignore notes Davis has "no intentions of giving up ownership of a franchise he controls along with his mother, Carole." Davis said, "My whole thing is to continue the legacy that my father built here and I've got one of the largest extended families in the world" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 1/11). San Jose Mercury News columnist Mark Purdy noted there were questions about whether Davis was “even going to care enough about the team to retain ownership control of it or might he sell some of that ownership control to somebody else who might then move the team." Purdy: "I think we had that answer today” ("Chronicle Live," Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 1/10). In Oakland, Jerry McDonald notes after Al Davis "died on Oct. 8, Mark Davis began soliciting opinions from former executive Ron Wolf and former coach John Madden to find someone to run the organization and assume the duties of his father" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 1/11).

JACKSON OUT AS COACH: YAHOO SPORTS' Michael Silver noted Hue Jackson "believes his dismissal after a single 8-8 season as the Raiders' coach was a decision ultimately made" by Davis. Jackson said, "It's Mark Davis' football team, and Mark's going to do what he thinks is best. In the end I think he said, 'I want to put my own stamp on it,' and he wanted his own coach." Though Davis and McKenzie "insisted in a news conference Tuesday afternoon that the general manager had made the call to dismiss the coach, Jackson believes otherwise." Jackson said, "It ain't Reggie" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/10). However, NFL Network's Jason La Canfora noted Jackson “had a contract where he reported directly to the owner, not the GM." La Canfora: "That was cumbersome” (“NFL Total Access,” NFL Network, 1/10). Meanwhile, ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan said, “If you're Reggie McKenzie and you’ve been hired as the GM, it's your right to start the program the way you want. If you don't like the coach ... then you have a right to make that change as you start over” (“Around The Horn,” ESPN, 1/10). ESPN’s Mike Golic said, “I actually understand this change. A new GM is going to want his guys” (“Mike & Mike in the Morning,” ESPN Radio, 1/11).

MEET THE NEW RAIDERS: In Oakland, Monte Poole in a front-page piece writes under the header, "The Raiders As You've Never Seen Them." Poole: "The Raiders are getting an overdue overhaul. ... Welcome to Mark and Reggie's New Raiders, who are nothing like Al's Raiders. There is, for example, a chain of command" (OAKLAND TRIBUNE, 1/11). CSNBAYAREA.com's Ray Ratto wrote this "could well be the end of The Old Weird Raiders." In firing Jackson, McKenzie "made it clear that nothing is safe in the building." He "took out Jackson, who was Amy Trask's right hand, and if this signals a power struggle between Davis and Trask, or between McKenzie and Trask, McKenzie/Davis is up, 1-nil." Ratto: "More likely, Trask acknowledged the chain of command as she always has" (CSNBAYAREA.com, 1/10). The MERCURY NEWS' Purdy writes, "You get the impression that for the entire Raiders organization, that life won't ever be the same." There are "surely going to be other big structural front office changes," but "most likely, they will only involve football." You can probably expect Trask to "stick around," but her job "may be one of the few safe ones." The rest is a "wild roll of the dice at this point" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/11). In San Jose, Tim Kawakami, writes the Raiders are "moving into a new, happier, more understandable and infinitely more modern era." Mark Davis was the "star of the show, with his own style -- relaxed, wry, spontaneous, patient through some tedious questioning, direct and cagey, too." While "honoring the legacy of his father, [Mark] Davis and the Raiders have moved forward and things will be different" (SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS, 1/11).

ON THE MARK: In S.F., Scott Ostler writes at yesterday's news conference, McKenzie "was the man, but Mark Davis, in his supporting role, was the star of the show." The public "learned a lot about the team's new owner." Davis, "it seems, is not a jerk, blowhard, smug tycoon or egomaniacal meddler/tyrant." He will be "one of the most laid-back and good-natured team owners you'll ever meet," and yesterday he "seemed poised and at ease" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/11). CSNBayArea.com's Paul Gutierrez said Davis “came across as 'a star is born'” during the press conference. Gutierrez: “He was engaging, he was energetic, he was personable, he was fun. He was everything that his father was except for being combative.” Comcast SportsNet Bay Area’s Kate Longworth said, “This is Mark’s first time addressing the media since the passing of his father back in October, and Mark really did a remarkable job. He truly took ownership of this press conference and showing what an owner he will be of this team." CSNBayArea.com's Barry Tompkins said, "It really takes something to stand up there and say, 'You know, I don't know everything, so I'm going to yield to those who do.' I was more impressed with him, and I was impressed with Reggie also. But I was really impressed with Mark Davis” ("Chronicle Live," Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 1/10).