Kevster
01-27-2008, 11:05 AM
I don't agree often with the writer of this article, but this time she nailed it... hard. Al Davis' unsubstantiated ego is killing the Raiders once again and as a Raider fan since I was born (and now a season ticket holder), this is almost pushing me to the brink. He is continually ruining the team because the coaches that give us any real success don't want to submit to his idiocy. The fans really like Kiffin and how he's starting to turn the team around (he did pretty good this year with essentially the same team as the year before). I hate to think of harm to someone, but Al Davis needs to catch a bad cold or something so he can stop his incessant meddling.
http://www.sacbee.com/raiders/story/663619.html
Davis continues to hurt Raiders with his power trips
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Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, January 26, 2008
This is a ridiculously easy play to call. Lane Kiffin should sit back and let Al Davis twist and shout, looking like an even bigger buffoon than usual, and force the Raiders' owner to decide between common sense and dollars and cents.
You know what he'll do. You win if you wait him out.
Then take the money and run.
The organization's protests and spin control notwithstanding, Davis clearly doesn't want his promising young coach around anymore, and Kiffin doesn't need any more of Davis' chronic meddling. Though reasonable men would resolve their differences and collaborate on the formidable task of rebuilding the Raiders, that will never happen.
Davis just can't help himself. He's a power-hungry has-been, and no matter how many coaches he devours, he's never satisfied.
Davis, 78, hires and fires on a whim, still behaves as if he belongs on the sideline instead of in a rocking chair, conveniently forgetting that he was the Coach of the Year in 1963. Listing his procession of successors would consist of cruelty to trees. The current decade alone, Jon Gruden, Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell and Kiffin have been hired and heralded by Davis, only to fall dramatically out of favor.
Gruden was the lone forceful personality whose presence dominated the locker room and alienated the boss. Callahan, Turner, Shell and Kiffin failed to win enough games to satisfy Davis; in Callahan's case, the losses included a Super Bowl humiliation against Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Most significant, all of the recent Raiders coaches eventually refused to keep kissing the ring – in Al's fantasy world, a fireable offense. In the real world, Davis seems intent on making Kiffin so uncomfortable that he quits with two years left on his contract, saving the Raiders some $4 million.
Sadly, no one expects Davis to do the honorable thing, to simply cut Kiffin a check and send the youngster on his way. These are the Raiders, always the black hats and black eyes of the NFL.
Had Davis been motivated by something other than a thirst for power, he actually could have justified a coaching change to a certain extent, saving himself from another public lashing. Though Kiffin, 32, restored discipline and accountability to a franchise that for decades has targeted lawyers, politicians and referees as its most formidable adversaries, the club finished 4-12. The defense ranked 22nd and was even worse against the run. And despite some serious lobbying by numerous Raiders executives, prized rookie quarterback JaMarcus Russell received valuable playing time only in the final weeks.
No, philosophical differences were apparent even in the beginning, with Kiffin clearly more comfortable with Josh McCown running his conservative system than veteran Daunte Culpepper or the much-publicized Russell, who missed all of training camp because of a contract impasse. The fans' almost weekly serenading of McCown did little to influence Kiffin, who explained that winning games – not the pursuit of an exciting style of play – was the prelude to eradicating a losing culture.
"It's a difficult mentality to have when people are so used to losing that it's just what they know," Kiffin told reporters during his postseason media discussion. "It's what happens. You lose games. You find a way to lose them. It's more difficult than if a team had just had one year of it. … What's the best chance to win? Well, it's going to be to run the ball and stop the run. And to build off the defense with 11 returning starters. We really couldn't take the chance to turn the ball over a lot, and throwing it downfield (or) getting a bunch of sacks."
Although Davis and Kiffin tussled over other player moves and personnel issues, the deal-breaker appears to be Kiffin's desire to replace longtime defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and members of his staff. When Davis resisted several weeks ago, even after the changes had been reported as imminent, the relationship between coach and owner fractured, undoubtedly irreparably so. And, as always, Davis seeks a split strictly on his terms. According to a Bee source, he wants Kiffin to quit so the Raiders don't have to pay the final two years of the contract.
The fact that the first-year coach inherited virtually the same roster that finished 2-14 in Shell's only season in his second stint? That the defense failed to provide the anchor? That the Raiders were more organized and put forth a far greater effort than a season ago?
Hey, Al's the boss. He still thinks he can coach.
Who in their right mind would touch this team now?
http://www.sacbee.com/raiders/story/663619.html
Davis continues to hurt Raiders with his power trips
-
Published 12:00 am PST Saturday, January 26, 2008
This is a ridiculously easy play to call. Lane Kiffin should sit back and let Al Davis twist and shout, looking like an even bigger buffoon than usual, and force the Raiders' owner to decide between common sense and dollars and cents.
You know what he'll do. You win if you wait him out.
Then take the money and run.
The organization's protests and spin control notwithstanding, Davis clearly doesn't want his promising young coach around anymore, and Kiffin doesn't need any more of Davis' chronic meddling. Though reasonable men would resolve their differences and collaborate on the formidable task of rebuilding the Raiders, that will never happen.
Davis just can't help himself. He's a power-hungry has-been, and no matter how many coaches he devours, he's never satisfied.
Davis, 78, hires and fires on a whim, still behaves as if he belongs on the sideline instead of in a rocking chair, conveniently forgetting that he was the Coach of the Year in 1963. Listing his procession of successors would consist of cruelty to trees. The current decade alone, Jon Gruden, Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell and Kiffin have been hired and heralded by Davis, only to fall dramatically out of favor.
Gruden was the lone forceful personality whose presence dominated the locker room and alienated the boss. Callahan, Turner, Shell and Kiffin failed to win enough games to satisfy Davis; in Callahan's case, the losses included a Super Bowl humiliation against Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Most significant, all of the recent Raiders coaches eventually refused to keep kissing the ring – in Al's fantasy world, a fireable offense. In the real world, Davis seems intent on making Kiffin so uncomfortable that he quits with two years left on his contract, saving the Raiders some $4 million.
Sadly, no one expects Davis to do the honorable thing, to simply cut Kiffin a check and send the youngster on his way. These are the Raiders, always the black hats and black eyes of the NFL.
Had Davis been motivated by something other than a thirst for power, he actually could have justified a coaching change to a certain extent, saving himself from another public lashing. Though Kiffin, 32, restored discipline and accountability to a franchise that for decades has targeted lawyers, politicians and referees as its most formidable adversaries, the club finished 4-12. The defense ranked 22nd and was even worse against the run. And despite some serious lobbying by numerous Raiders executives, prized rookie quarterback JaMarcus Russell received valuable playing time only in the final weeks.
No, philosophical differences were apparent even in the beginning, with Kiffin clearly more comfortable with Josh McCown running his conservative system than veteran Daunte Culpepper or the much-publicized Russell, who missed all of training camp because of a contract impasse. The fans' almost weekly serenading of McCown did little to influence Kiffin, who explained that winning games – not the pursuit of an exciting style of play – was the prelude to eradicating a losing culture.
"It's a difficult mentality to have when people are so used to losing that it's just what they know," Kiffin told reporters during his postseason media discussion. "It's what happens. You lose games. You find a way to lose them. It's more difficult than if a team had just had one year of it. … What's the best chance to win? Well, it's going to be to run the ball and stop the run. And to build off the defense with 11 returning starters. We really couldn't take the chance to turn the ball over a lot, and throwing it downfield (or) getting a bunch of sacks."
Although Davis and Kiffin tussled over other player moves and personnel issues, the deal-breaker appears to be Kiffin's desire to replace longtime defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and members of his staff. When Davis resisted several weeks ago, even after the changes had been reported as imminent, the relationship between coach and owner fractured, undoubtedly irreparably so. And, as always, Davis seeks a split strictly on his terms. According to a Bee source, he wants Kiffin to quit so the Raiders don't have to pay the final two years of the contract.
The fact that the first-year coach inherited virtually the same roster that finished 2-14 in Shell's only season in his second stint? That the defense failed to provide the anchor? That the Raiders were more organized and put forth a far greater effort than a season ago?
Hey, Al's the boss. He still thinks he can coach.
Who in their right mind would touch this team now?