General Manager
McKenzie’s scouting department added excellent talent at numerous
positions through the 2015 NFL Draft. Wide receiver Amari Cooper,
selected with the fourth-overall pick out of Alabama, had an immediate
impact, setting franchise rookie records with 72 receptions for 1,070 yards
and garnering PFWA All-Rookie and Pro Bowl honors. Defensive lineman
Mario Edwards Jr., the Raiders’ second-round selection, also had a solid
impact as a rookie, starting 10 games and earning All-Rookie recognition.
McKenzie and his staff stocked the roster with exceptional talent in the
2014 NFL Draft, adding four immediate starters to the active roster and
earning top grades across the board from local and national media. The
Raiders selected six defensive players, including fifth-overall selection
Mack, who earned consensus All-Rookie honors in his first season. Mack
blossomed into one of the league’s elite defenders in his second year,
recording 15 sacks to rank second in the NFL and becoming the first
player ever to be named first-team All-Pro at two different positions
(defensive end and linebacker) in the same season. Mack continued his
rise to superstardom in an outstanding third year, earning NFL Defensive
Player of the Year honors after posting 11 sacks, including sacks in a
record-tying eight consecutive games.
In the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, McKenzie added Carr,
who started all 16 games as a rookie and shattered every rookie passing
record in franchise annals. Carr continued his ascent in his sophomore
season, garnering Pro Bowl honors after passing for 3,987 yards and
tossing 32 touchdowns, the second highest single-season total in
franchise history. Carr burst into elite company during a third season that
saw him emerge as a Most Valuable Player candidate. The quarterback
passed for 28 touchdowns with only six interceptions, notching a 96.7
quarterback rating and leading seven fourth-quarter comebacks before
having his season cut short due to an injury suffered in the regular
season’s penultimate game. The 2014 draft class bounty also included
starting guard Gabe Jackson, defensive tackle Justin Ellis and defensive
back TJ Carrie.
Stocking the roster with talented players began in earnest for McKenzie
with the 2013 NFL Draft, when he traded the third-overall pick to Miami in
exchange for the 12th selection and the Dolphins’ second-round choice,
picks which he used to select cornerback DJ Hayden and tackle Menelik
Watson, respectively. McKenzie later executed two additional draft-day
trades, turning seven picks into a league-high 10 total selections, and
mining talents in the later rounds like defensive lineman Stacy McGee,
tight end Mychal Rivera and running back Latavius Murray, who earned
a Pro Bowl nod in 2015.
In his first draft as General Manager in 2012, the Raiders owned just
five selections and none before the 95th overall pick, which was a thirdround
compensatory choice. Following that draft, McKenzie added rookie
free agent wide receiver Rod Streater, who totaled 39 receptions as a
newcomer and led the Raiders with 60 catches for 888 yards in 2013,
and punter Marquette King, who led the NFL in punting (48.9 avg.) in
2013 and set a franchise record with 40 punts placed inside the 20-yard
line in 2015.
McKenzie, who played in 58 games with 40 starts at linebacker for the
Silver and Black from 1985-88, re-joined the franchise after 18 years
in the Green Bay Packers’ personnel department. He joined the Packers
in 1994 and helped Green Bay capture eight division titles and three
conference championships, and both Super Bowl XXXI and Super Bowl
XLV titles.
As a key component in evaluating and acquiring talent, McKenzie
was instrumental in helping the Packers establish the NFL’s second-best
record, 194-110 (.638), trailing only New England (198-106, .651)
since the 1993 dawn of free agency and the salary cap, a period of
time that many observers predicted would be difficult to navigate for the
small-market franchise.
McKenzie was promoted to director--football operations in 2008 by
General Manager Ted Thompson and worked closely with Thompson in
putting together a championship team, culminating in a Super Bowl title
in 2010 and a 15-1 regular season record in 2011.
McKenzie oversaw the team’s scouting efforts of all professional
football leagues, including the NFL, CFL, NFL Europe and Arena Football
League. He also played a key role in evaluating both players on the roster
and potential free agents across the NFL. McKenzie provided advance
scouting reports on upcoming opponents for the head coach and his staff
18 2018 Raiders Gameday
and was heavily involved in all of the team’s transactions and tryouts on
a daily basis to build depth, including 2010, when the Packers won the
Lombardi Trophy despite losing six opening-day starters – and 15 overall –
to season-ending injuries. He was also central in signing free agents Ryan
Pickett and Charles Woodson, the 2009 Defensive Player of the Year. His
work helped produce several contributors in the run to the Super Bowl XLV
title and a decade earlier, he helped obtain Eugene Robinson, Santana
Dotson, Bruce Wilkerson, Andre Rison and Desmond Howard, who were
significant contributors to the Packers’ Super Bowl XXXI title.
It was McKenzie’s “Raiders roots” that initially brought him to Green
Bay. McKenzie reconnected with Pro Football Hall of Famer Ron Wolf,
who was a Raiders executive when McKenzie was drafted and played for
the Silver and Black, while McKenzie was a graduate assistant coach
at the University of Tennessee in 1993. Wolf hired him on the spot
following an interview in Green Bay and McKenzie began his NFL front
office career as a pro personnel assistant for the Packers in 1994. In May
1997, Wolf promoted McKenzie to director of pro personnel after Green
Bay won Super Bowl XXXI.
Selected by the Silver and Black as a 10th-round draft pick out of
Tennessee in 1985, McKenzie excelled in his first year, earning All-
Rookie Team honors as the Raiders went 12-4 and won the AFC West.
He started all 32 games over his first two seasons at inside linebacker.
After four years (1985-88) with the Raiders, McKenzie spent two
seasons (1989-90) with the Phoenix Cardinals and one year with the
San Francisco 49ers (1992).
Prior to signing with the 49ers, McKenzie played with the Montreal
Machine of the World League of American Football (WLAF) in the
spring of 1992. While out of pro football in 1991, he spent a season
as a defensive coach for Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, helping the
program to a CIF Los Angeles Section championship.
In 1993, McKenzie returned to the University of Tennessee and
served as a graduate assistant coach under Phillip Fulmer, working with
defensive coaches Larry Marmie, Lovie Smith, John Chavis and Jacob
Burney. That year, the Volunteers appeared in the Florida Citrus Bowl
and landed one of the nation’s top recruiting classes, highlighted by
quarterback Peyton Manning. During that time in Knoxville, McKenzie
pursued a master’s degree in education administration.
Born in Knoxville, Tenn., on Feb. 8, 1963, McKenzie earned a
bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in
personnel management at Tennessee. An all-state linebacker and a foursport
letterman at Austin-East High School in Knoxville, McKenzie was
valedictorian of his 1981 high school graduating class, in addition to
throwing the shot and discus for his track team, playing baseball (first
base) and basketball (forward), and starting on both sides of the line on
the gridiron. His twin brother, Raleigh, who also attended Tennessee and
enjoyed a 16-year NFL career with four teams before retiring in 2001,
joined his brother in the Raiders’ personnel department as a college
scout in 2012. The McKenzie twins have a total of four Super Bowl rings
between them.
McKenzie and his wife, June, have two daughters, Jasmin Dolores, a
2014 graduate of Wheaton College with a degree in elementary education
and a master’s degree in urban education at Union University, and
Mahkayla Mariah, a 2015 graduate of Duke University with a degree in
civil engineering. He also has two sons, Reginald Kahlil, who was recently
drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs after a standout career at Tennessee,
and Jalen Elijah, who is currently an offensive lineman at USC.
Reggie McKenzie’s Football Background
YearS Team Position
1985-88 Los Angeles Raiders Linebacker
1989-90 Phoenix Cardinals Linebacker
1991 Dorsey H.S. (LA) Defensive Coach
1992 Montreal Machine (WLAF) Linebacker
1992 San Francisco 49ers Linebacker
1993 University of Tennessee Graduate Assistant/Defense
1994-96 Green Bay Packers Pro Personnel Assistant
1997-07 Green Bay Packers Director of Pro Personnel
2008-11 Green Bay Packers Director of Football Operations
2012-18 Oakland Raiders General Manager