Open season on speculation
By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer
Thursday, January 14th, 2010 at 7:42 pm in Oakland Raiders.
Which of the following discussions was more likely to occur when Al Davis and Tom Cable met Thursday night?
Clarification: There is no confirmation that Davis and Cable ever met, although both were in the building.
A) A second job interview of sorts, how Cable will make sure the Raiders contend next season in the AFC West. Issue of JaMarcus Russell tabled until Friday.
B) A serious talk about how to resurrect Russell as a prospect, and a plan of attack of how to get it accomplished. No talk of a change.
C) The beginning of a protracted evaluation of Cable’s performance as the head coach, from play-calling, to use of personnel and potential changes in the 2010 staff.
D) The start of a process in which Davis details the reasons for Cable’s dismissal and attempts to get him to resign rather than have to face the Randy Hanson and domestic violence issues in an arbitration hearing should he be fired “for cause.”
E) Taking a moment to go over the pile of anti-Lane Kiffin clips piled on Davis’ desk as the owner gets some national respect for correctly identifying his former coach as a “flat-out liar.”
OK, probably some combination of the above . . . except for the Kiffin thing. I’m sure he has the clips, doubt he’ll bring it up with Cable.
Traded e-mails with someone I respect who understands the ways of the Raiders and floated the idea that if Cable and Davis were to meet Friday, it would have to be a good sign for Cable. Was advised not to think in conventional terms and not to assume anything.
Good advice.
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January 14th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
No matter what happens, all this does is keep the Raiders in the news during playoff time, which happens to be Al Davis’ M.O.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Traded e-mails with someone I respect who understands the ways of the Raiders and floated the idea that if Cable and Davis were to meet Friday, it would have to be a good sign for Cable. Was advised not to think in conventional terms and not to assume anything.
Good advice.”
Thanks Jerry, thanks for the respect
January 14th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
If I hear about Gruden one more time I’m gonna shoot myself. HE’S NEVER COMING BACK. We are who we are. As retarded coaches always say.
January 14th, 2010 at 7:54 pm
Gruden was just seen exiting a private jet over at Oakland International Airport and headed to Alameda.
Dacrandall – Just messing with you bro…
January 14th, 2010 at 7:56 pm
Gruden!!
January 14th, 2010 at 7:57 pm
Just messing with you bro! Too!
January 14th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
Just fire the coach and get on with it
January 14th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
RaiderMutt is just so funny & witty I dunno if I can contain myself.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:23 pm
Too bad that Cable can’t demand that Al get a GM to help with the Football Operations.
That might be a deal breaker.
I think Cable should write a book…(post mortem) “Kickin Ass in the Conference Room and on the Field. How Al Davis tied a Hand behind my back and dared Me to succeed.”
January 14th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
Cabe cant even demand there be toilet paper in the mens room & you want him to demand a GM?
lmao
January 14th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
No. Read it again. (The part that says TOO BAD CABLE CAN’T)
:0
January 14th, 2010 at 8:32 pm
RaiderDogg Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
No matter what happens, all this does is keep the Raiders in the news during playoff time, which happens to be Al Davis’ M.O.
—————————
That’s definitely his M.O.
Such a Drama Queen.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:35 pm
Mistabr0wn Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 8:14 pm
RaiderMutt is just so funny & witty I dunno if I can contain myself.”
Envy does not look good on you. Are the adjectives “funny” and “witty” all that you could come up with? No wonder you are jealous.
Maybe you should change your name again. LMAO!
Hey, at least you didn’t refer to me as your girlfriend or some other feminine adjective. You are making strides at hiding your latent homosexual tendencies. Very miniscule strides, but strides none the less. Progress is progress they always say.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
Al and the “Greatness of the Raiders” “Drama” left the building a long time ago.
Now it’s just annoying.
Old People need help. Even Al.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:41 pm
el cable todovia esta puesto!
January 14th, 2010 at 8:45 pm
sorry,i haven’t read everything everyone has been spouting lately,but if Cable isn’t being let go (which i hope to be the case),why should there be any announcement?do other teams come out every year and say “hey,guess what,we aren’t firing our coach and our HC will return for the final year of his contract”.
what i find amusing is when polls are taken asking about Cable,over 70% believe he should be given another year,yet on here,the majority want him replaced.maybe this blog-just like the owner-is out of step with reality!!!!
January 14th, 2010 at 8:47 pm
My guess is that Al told him Cable he wants to get rid of him. And Cable had one last chance to argue his case. The most important question was what he was going to do about JaMarcus. (Sounds like a bad sit-com…”What about JaMarcus?”)
Al will probably think about it tonight, then hold a press conference either Friday or Monday. Probably Friday so he can steal a little of that playoff spotlight.
Don’t feel too bad Nation, no quality coach wants to interview for the Bills’ job either.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:50 pm
I think Cable stays. I’m not too sure how I feel about that, I like the fact that he’ll have another year to prove himself. I hate the fact that his job allegedly depends on whether or not he continues to work with Russell. Al Davis will lose more money keeping Russell than cutting him. If you keep Russell, the team will absolutely have black outs for every game. I have no reason to spend good moeny to watch that crap. Watching last Sunday’s playoff game between the Cards and Packers, it became apparent to me just how much we are not a playoff caliber team yet. Unfortunately, San Diego will remanin strong for several more years to come, Denver wasn’t that bad, and KC is rebuilding and just signed Crennell and Weis. We need drastic change very soon if we are going to get out of this funk. Maybe Cable can help us, but Russell will only set us back.
January 14th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
If Cable is still going to call plays, he needs to dedicate this team to running the ball. Too many times we would have a 2nd and short and try a pass then come up short on 3rd when the D knew we were going to run. He needs to be unpredictable because our line is not physically dominant up front.
There need to be at least two O-lineman drafted this year and a solid FA signing.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:09 pm
The next step is for Al to interview someone first, before actually firing Cable.
Just make everything a little weirder Al, why don’t you?
Just Al and a bunch of henchman these days. All the decent individuals are gone and it is Al and his cult running the show.
We are screwed.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
Raidervill Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 8:55 pm
If Cable is still going to call plays, he needs to dedicate this team to running the ball. Too many times we would have a 2nd and short and try a pass then come up short on 3rd when the D knew we were going to run. He needs to be unpredictable because our line is not physically dominant up front.
There need to be at least two O-lineman drafted this year and a solid FA signing.
——————-
Agree with your recommendations about upgrading the o-line.
Disagree about necessarily running more. You need to throw the ball to score points and win in the NFL right now, there’s no two ways about it. Our inability to execute a passing offense for most of the season is the only reason we finished 5-11. But if you always run it on 1st down and 2nd and short teams will load up and take it away. You have to be unpredictable. But you also have to execute.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Oh man, the tweets from Jerry, DW,..the juicy story from Corky,..I just cant take the suspense anymore,..thats it, Im back on Norco,..brb, goin on craigslist…
January 14th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Is that clown still here posting under my name?
January 14th, 2010 at 9:25 pm
Anyhow, whoever it is, it seems that his biggest problem with me is that I comment about Al Davis. So, now that I know what makes him mad…
………………………..
Dressed in a sleek white warmup suit that covers his frame as predictably as snow covers the North Pole, Al Davis roams the Oakland Raiders’ universe, putting his hands on everything. His touch may be cold, but he travels less like a snowstorm than like a twister. He can suddenly thrash his surroundings, and when he appears, people run for shelter. In a sport marked by confrontation and intimidation, few, if any, figures are crossed less and feared more.
During his 33 years with the Raiders, Davis, 66, whose title is president of the general partner, has built some of the most successful teams in NFL history, including three Super Bowl champions. But he has also made moves, especially in recent years, that have compromised the Raiders’ prospects for success and given the organization an aura of paranoia and divisiveness. The environment he has created undermined the Raiders during a six-game losing streak at the end of the 1995 season. As a result of that slump, the Raiders missed the playoffs for the third time in four years and the seventh time in 10. Many current and former Raiders players, coaches and administrators believe the blame for these years of failure lies at the top.
“The word is spreading about the Raiders and Al Davis,” says Seattle Seahawks fullback Steve Smith, a Raider from 1987 to ‘93. “The way they collapsed last year was typical. The Raiders have had more talent than any other team the last 10 years. They should have won at least three Super Bowls during that time, but they didn’t because Al screwed everything up.”
Davis, who did not return several calls to be interviewed for this story, is a man of contradictions, so the Raiders are a team of incongruities. An example: On one hand, most Raiders employees live in fear of Davis; conversely, discipline barely exists. “There’s so much confusion there, it’s unbelievable,” says Greg Skrepenak, a Raiders tackle for the last three of their 13 years in Los Angeles and last season when the team returned to its old base, in Oakland. Skrepenak signed with the Carolina Panthers as a free agent in February. “The problems were selfishness and a lack of cohesiveness. You had guys walking out of meetings, coming in late or not showing up at all. There were guys talking back to coaches and coaches yelling at each other. You’re never really sure where the decisions are coming from, and it seems like everything’s a big secret. Ultimately the decisions fall on Al Davis.”
Nonetheless, in what has become an annual rite of spring, optimism abounds in Raiderland. Last year hopes were buoyed by the hiring of Mike White as coach and the switch to an offensive scheme featuring short timing patterns. This spring a draft-day deal that landed Ohio State tight end Rickey Dudley and the signing of two big-name free agents—defensive tackle Russell Maryland and cornerback Larry Brown, both former Dallas Cowboys—have allowed Oakland to put a happy spin on 1996.
Certainly the Raiders have enough talent to inspire talk of a Super Bowl run. Last summer they spent several days scrimmaging the Cowboys, who have won three of the last four Super Bowls, and Dallas cornerback Kevin Smith says, “We feel like they’re at least as talented as we are, maybe more so. The other day a bunch of us were trying to figure out why the Raiders don’t win.”
Last year Oakland was 8-2 before its meltdown, and several players say the early success masked a lack of motivation that would help cause the team’s demise. True, Oakland was beset by injuries, the most damaging of which was the shoulder ailments that sidelined quarterback Jeff Hostetler during most of the last six games. But bad luck alone cannot explain a collapse of such magnitude. “It only takes a few bad apples to destroy a season, and that’s what happened to us,” says Raiders halfback Harvey Williams. “A lot of people didn’t give a s—-. When you’re out in the middle of the ocean and you’ve got dead weight on board, you’re going to drown.”
Some players showed disregard for authority. In one ugly incident, which occurred a few days before the Raiders’ 34-21 loss to the Cowboys on Nov. 19, defensive end Anthony Smith attacked his position coach, Floyd Peters, after Peters questioned his play during a meeting. Witnesses say the 6′3″, 265-pound Smith knocked the 60-year-old Peters to the ground while other players and coaches watched. Yet Smith started against Dallas, which disgusted many of his teammates.
“The problem with the Raiders is there’s no accountability,” says one prominent veteran. “People say Al Davis is too involved. Hell, I think he should get more involved, if that’s what it would take.” Last season Davis spent less time around the players and coaches than he had in previous years, but he remained the Raiders’ absolute authority figure.
Davis has a history of undermining his coaches, and one source says that despite his lower profile in 1995, Davis pulled his share of power plays on White. Several times he showed up at practice and waited for White to approach him after drills. As White walked toward him, the source says, Davis walked away.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
While White is highly regarded by even Davis’s most strident critics, he was unable to motivate the Raiders during the six-game skid, which began with the loss to the Cowboys and continued the following Monday night with a 12-6 defeat by the San Diego Chargers. “That game was a prime example of people giving up,” Williams says. “[Some guys] had that look in their eyes.”
The look must have shown up on film, because two weeks later the Pittsburgh Steelers based their offensive game plan on the premise that the Raiders, because of poor conditioning and a lack of mental toughness, would fade as the game wore on. Pittsburgh coaches instructed their offense to run plays faster early in the game to tire out the Raiders. The strategy worked. The Steelers won 29-10. “They didn’t even put up a fight,” says one Pittsburgh player.
The next week, despite Hostetler’s valiant attempt to play with a torn rotator cuff in his left (nonthrowing) shoulder, the Raiders were blown out in Seattle 44-10. To Seahawks linebacker Winston Moss, who played for the Raiders from 1991 to ‘94, the action on the visitors’ sideline was all too familiar. “There were guys fighting, tirades from coaches to players and coaches to coaches,” Moss says. “You could tell they were tired, just going through the motions.”
According to Skrepenak, “Things got more and more lenient” in Oakland as the year wound down. Five minutes before the start of one late-season home game, he says, a player took a cellular phone call in the locker room as the other Raiders were gathering for a pregame speech.
Davis has done many good deeds in his life. He has, for instance, offered financial assistance to former and current players, ailing former coaches and even journalists. And he has kept those gestures quiet. He was also the first NFL owner to hire a Hispanic and a black as head coach. But Davis’s abuses of power have become increasingly visible. For example, after practice it is customary for him to enter the equipment room, drop a towel on the floor and wait for an employee to clean his shoes. “I saw him make someone wipe his shoes in front of 75 people,” says Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, who coached the Raiders in 1988 and was fired four games into the ‘89 season.
“If you don’t do what he says to do, when he says to do it, you’re on the s—list,” Steve Smith says. Tight end Jamie Williams, who spent 1994, the last of his 12 NFL seasons, with the Raiders, likens Davis to an “evil emperor. There’s no one to challenge him because he’s surrounded by yes-men.”
The list of those vanquished by Davis is extensive. In recent years his treatment of two employees in particular—popular trainer George Anderson and future Hall of Fame running back Marcus Allen—damaged team morale. Anderson, who had been with the Raiders since 1960, three years before Davis arrived as coach and general manager, says he was forced to retire in 1994 for refusing to do a television interview condemning a book written by former team physician Robert Huizenga. In the book Huizenga said Davis and the coaching staff pressured team doctors to clear injured players to return to action too soon. Five years earlier Huizenga had successfully treated Anderson’s wife of 42 years for Hodgkin’s disease. “The word loyalty is bandied about much too casually in the Raiders’ organization,” Anderson says. “For Al Davis, loyalty means, ‘You be loyal to me. I’ll think about being loyal to you.’ ”
Sources who were part of the team say that in the late 1980s and early ’90s Davis ordered Raiders coaches to limit Allen’s playing time, often in favor of far less effective runners. Steve Smith and others say that Davis sometimes ordered that quarterbacks not throw the ball to Allen. “The other players had heard so much about this ‘family’ thing, but then we saw what happened to Marcus,” says Ronnie Lott, who played safety for the Raiders in 1991 and ‘92. “All of a sudden, the guy who was Mr. Raider wasn’t part of the family. We wondered, How can you not play your best player?”
Says Allen, who signed with the Kansas City Chiefs as a free agent in 1993, “I always felt we had the best personnel in football, but the best personnel wasn’t always on the field. We had to win a certain way or no way. Sometimes we sacrificed winning for a philosophy—or one man’s philosophy.”
Davis gave up on linebacker Matt Millen, who won Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins after his 1989 release, and on receiver James Lofton, who was also waived in 1989 and went on to start in three Super Bowls for the Buffalo Bills. And the blame for the Raiders’ well documented quarterback problems can be placed largely on Davis, who traded for Jay Schroeder in ‘88 and stuck with him for five seasons, even after Schroeder was outplayed by Steve Beuerlein in ‘89. “Al wanted Jay to be the starter because Jay was the guy he brought in, and he felt Jay was more a Raider-style quarterback,” says Beuerlein, whom Davis traded to Dallas in 1991 and who now plays for Carolina.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Davis favors players whose most striking attribute is raw speed and obscure players whom he has discovered. Three examples are tight end Andrew Glover, a Raiders starter the past two seasons who caught only 10 passes as a senior at Grambling; defensive back Dan Land, a converted running back with excellent speed: and defensive back James Trapp, who won the NFL’s Fastest Man competition in 1995.
“Teams would watch our waiver wire,” five-time Pro Bowl wideout Tim Brown said last summer, “because the word around the league was that the Raiders were going to release football players and keep the guys Al likes.”
In 1988 Davis ordered Shanahan to play Willie Gault, a former Olympic sprinter, ahead of Brown. Shanahan refused because Brown’s superiority to Gault was so obvious in practice. “That was the biggest fight we ever had,” says Shanahan. “No one had ever stood up to him. Everyone there is afraid of him, so that’s the behavior he expects.”
Even after he was fired, Shanahan says Davis tried to bully him. “He told me that if I went to the Broncos, he wouldn’t pay me the $250,000 he owed me [under the terms of his contract],” Shanahan says. Shanahan resisted, saying, “I have a contract.” According to Shanahan, Davis replied, “I’ll get you.” Shanahan went to the Broncos, as quarterbacks coach, anyway. He still has not received a penny from Davis. According to league spokesman Greg Aiello, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue ruled three years ago that Davis was required to pay Shanahan the $250,000, but Davis appealed the decision, saying he had lent Shanahan about $200,000 that had not been repaid. The matter is under review.
Davis’s treatment of Shanahan’s successor, Hall of Famer and former Raiders tackle Art Shell, was equally heavy-handed. Sources say Davis meddled with game plans during the week and sent notes to offensive coaches requesting specific plays during games. “Some strange play would appear during a game,” Jamie Williams says, “and players would look up to the press box and say, ‘That was Al.’ ”
After hiring White to replace Shell before last season, Davis seemed to make a conscious effort to remain in the background. However, in an interview last fall, White conceded that Davis regularly faxed him plays and called him with suggestions, sometimes in the middle of the night. (White canceled an April interview with SI because, according to his assistant, he was instructed to do so by Raiders senior assistant Bruce Allen.)
During this off-season Davis persuaded assistant head coach/offense Joe Bugel, who was being wooed by new Miami Dolphins coach Jimmy Johnson, to stay with the Raiders. There were those aggressive free-agent signings of Maryland and Larry Brown, who was MVP of last January’s Super Bowl, to large deals. And with Hostetler’s health restored and the addition of Dudley, a 245-pounder who runs 40 yards in 4.5 seconds, the Raiders’ offense looks even more dangerous than it did in the first half of last season, when it was the NFL’s top-rated unit.
But can a team thrive in a workplace filled with confusion and paranoia, one in which team officials, according to Moss, Jamie Williams and other former players, eavesdrop on interviews and locker room conversations and report back to Davis? “Players say the walls have ears,” Skrepenak says. “I think Al can find out information, because locker room talk always got back to the head coach.”
Nor are the coaches immune to Davis’s snooping. Shell says two or three unnamed assistants “backstabbed” him before his firing. “You’d go into staff meetings,” says one former assistant, “and the whole thing was orchestrated for people to turn on each other. And the more you discredited people to Al, the better off you were.” According to one former assistant, Davis would use film sessions to criticize play-calling. During reviews of plays that failed, Davis would solicit an opinion from a coach who wasn’t involved in the call, and that assistant would have no choice but to criticize his coworker.
In such an environment it’s tough to sell a team concept. “We have to look at the organizations that have won Super Bowls in recent years and how they got that way,” says Raiders defensive tackle Chester McGlockton. “Then, from our owner on down, we have to get our house in order.”
January 14th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
In March, Davis said he considered cleaning house after last season, “but you can’t do that with the [salary] cap today.”
“You can say ‘problem players’ all you want, but that’s a lot of bull,” says safety Patrick Bates, a 1993 first-round draft choice who sat out all of last season because of his distaste for the Raiders’ organization and was traded to the Atlanta Falcons in April. “Somebody has to say, ‘I’m going to step up and discipline this team.’ ”
Only Davis has such power. He thrashes about like a twister, but he seems to be striking the wrong targets.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
Usually one blow-out and one up-set in this round.
I think Saints or Chargers are the blowouts and Dallas or Ravens are the upsets.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Brown: Al Davis Hates Black Athletes From ND
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Posted By Mike Florio 1:58 PM
We wonder whether former Oakland Raiders receiver Tim Brown, who likely will be a Hall of Famer before too long, will be asking team owner Al Davis to introduce Brown for his enshrinement.
If Brown does, it could get very interesting.
On Monday, Brown told WCNN in Atlanta that Davis doesn’t like black athletes from Notre Dame.
“Meeting Al was pretty unique,” Brown said, via SportsRadioInterviews.com by way of MJD’s Shutdown Corner at Yahoo! Sports. “I found out five or 10 minutes after my first practice there that he hated African-American athletes from Notre Dame. And they literally told me that. They literally told me that because we’re known for using our education more than our athletic ability that he thought that I would be one of these guys that would basically take the money and run. I don’t know if that was a ploy to get me amped up, but it certainly worked.”
No one ever could claim Davis is a racist. He hired a black head coach more than a decade before the league adopted a rule aimed at solving the problem of a coaching roster that looked like a board meeting at the Wonder Bread company.
That said, the Raiders haven’t drafted an overabundance of African-American players who attended Notre Dame.
In the 22 years since Tim Brown arrived via round one, the Raiders have picked only one black player from South Bend — receiver Raghhib Ismail, whose rights were secured on a fourth-round flyer in the year he decided to play for the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts.
Prior to Brown, the Raiders had picked only one black player from Notre Dame: defensive back Stacy Toran (sixth round, 1984).
White players from Notre Dame who played for the Raiders are as follows: defensive back Stan Smagala (fifth round, 1990); quarterback Steve Beuerlein (fourth round, 1987); center Steve Sylvester (tenth round, 1975); and tight end Dave Casper (second round, 1974).
So, on one hand, Davis and the Raiders don’t have much experience with black players from Notre Dame, giving Davis no real basis on which to come to the conclusion that he should beware the intersection of a specific race and a specific school.
On the other hand, it could be argued that Davis formed his views prior to becoming involved with the Raiders, or based on impressions he picked up from other people in the league.
Regardless, Davis didn’t draft a single black player from Notre Dame prior to 1984, and Davis hasn’t drafted a single black player from Notre Dame since putting a flag on Rocket Ismail 18 years ago, in the event he ultimately decided to return from Canada.
Still, we think that Brown’s hunch is right. Some in the organization might have been looking for a way to motivate Brown, who as the sixth overall pick in the draft could have opted for complacency once money ceased being an issue for him.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:31 pm
Last season, the Raiders paid DeAngleo Hall $8 million for eight weeks of service before cutting bait. Not the best use of the salary cap, but it makes sense when put in perspective: Oakland has had four coaches, four quarterbacks and 16 wins in four years. Blowing $8 million on Hall is nothing.
Hall wasn’t out of work long; he signed with the Redskins and played well enough to get a long-term deal (apparently, leaving Oakland is good for your career).
But even days after Al Davis released him, he had nothing but good things to say about Lane Kiffin’s archnemesis, telling the Sports Bog’s Dan Steinberg: “It wasn’t so much that it didn’t work. Al Davis is a great guy, he’s an honest guy, and what he told me was, ‘We’re not as good as I thought we were as a team, so we need to try to clear up some [cap] room.’”
But during a recent radio interview on WJFK (Washington, DC), Hall stopped being polite and started getting real. Or something:
“Probably the funniest thing, I was pretty close to Lane Kiffin…and after they fired Lane and were about to announce who the next coach was – I don’t know if you guys saw this in the media world, but I was actually sitting there live, me and a couple other players there in the back. And [Davis] went through this whole spiel of what happened…and said our next coach is Tom Cable, he’s going to be our interim coach.
When everybody paused for Tom to come in, like a breakoff. [Davis] goes to the media guide and not even whispering says ‘hey, anyone got any information on this Tom Cable guy, I don’t know where he comes from.’ That’s just vintage Al Davis. Making a move, not really knowing why, no real justification for doing it. But just saying, ‘hey, I want this guy, let’s get him, I’ll figure everything else out later.’ And that’s just how Al Davis is.”
Yes, that’s just how Al Davis rolls. No idea if it’s true, but it certainly seems plausible. On the upside, maybe Davis hiring a guy he knows nothing about is the best thing for the organization. I mean, if every instinct Big Al has is wrong, then the opposite would have to be right.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Rich Gannon Isn’t Fond of the Work Environment in Oakland
10/01/2008 5:35 PM ET By Adam Gretz
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If nothing else, the ongoing soap opera unfolding before our eyes in Oakland has produced some rather humorous comments from former Raiders, and led to a lot of people piling on owner Al Davis, which apparently, is very easy to do. The latest person to jump on the pile? Former pro bowl quarterback Rich Gannon, who didn’t exactly sugarcoat what he thought of the current climate in Oakland.
ProFootballTalk offers some of Gannon’s criticisms during his appearance on Sirius NFL Radio.
“And they have problems, there’s no question. It’s an organization that is going through a very difficult period. It’s an organization, in my opinion, that is dysfunctional. They have a lot of issues
Gannon continued by saying, “it’s not a tough place to work, it’s an impossible place to work,” and then spent some time talking about how much success former coaches such as Jon Gruden and Mike Shanahan had after they were forced out of the Raiders’ Head Coaching position.
And then there’s the latest in the revolving door of head coaches, Tom Cable.
“This guy, Tom Cable, the poor guy, does that he think he is more equipped and better prepared than his predecessors? In other words, if Gruden couldn’t make it there and Bill Callahan couldn’t make it there and then if Norv Turner couldn’t make it there and then Art Shell couldn’t make it there and then Lane Kiffin couldn’t make it there, why does he think, all of a sudden, he’s going to make it there? I don’t understand.”
In other words, good luck, Tom! You’re going to need it. Honestly, there’s really nothing new here that we haven’t heard before: bad place to work, dysfunctional, Al is crazy, etc. etc. etc.
To me, the Raiders sound like a real life version of the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant from The Simpsons. Think about it. You’ve got Al Davis playing the role of C. Montgomery Burns, the ageless billionaire running the ship into the ground who would probably sell his own mother if the price was right.
John Herrera, Davis’ right-hand man/yes-man, plays the role of the loyal assistant Waylon Smithers, while Davis’ legal counsel, Jeff Birren, fits in as the blue-haired attorney who always shows up to make sure Monty doesn’t get the plant shut down. Tom Cable, I suppose, is the new Homer Simpson, plugging along in sector 7-G, putting in his time, trying his best to avoid the inevitable meltdown.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
“Open season on speculation” = AD is a stubborn old coot and cable is a da = another puppet coached year with an preappointed staff and no real gm = more ridiculous bs = another losing season = 5-11 in spite of another athletic 1st round draft pick instead of a football player. How’s that for speculation.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:33 pm
Al Davis is the Problem In Oakland: Warren Sapp, Rich Gannon Agree!
Sapp on Al Davis…
Quote:
Nobody tells you how bad it is,” the former defensive tackle said on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.” ” … any person that calls me on the telephone, [I tell them] do not go anywhere near Oakland.”
Quote:
“You take him out, put him at home watching film or whatever he is doing — you have a functioning football organization. But once he comes over the top, he goes and starts moving it around.
Quote:
Al Davis knows football — it’s just ’60s and ’70s football. That’s what it is. He’s thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field — deep ball, deep ball, deep ball.”
Sapp even said that Davis would call in plays when Sapp was playing for the Raiders.
Quote:
“I remember the first two weeks I was there, we played a preseason game. Somebody came up one time and said, ‘We’re going deep right here, dog.’ I said, how do you know? He said, ‘The phone just rang.’
Source
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3622637
Rich Gannon on Davis
Quote:
“From a guy that has been in the organization, that’s been around it, I know just how difficult a place it can be to work,” Gannon said. “And they have problems, there’s no question. It’s an organization that is going through a very difficult period. It’s an organization, in my opinion, that is dysfunctional. They have a lot of issues.
“This is not something that I haven’t discussed publicly and privately before with the owner. I’ve talked to Mr. Davis at great length about our philosophical difference of opinion. I believe that you need to have discipline, structure, a system in place, organization. He is a guy that is not a big believer in having too many rules and that’s one of the reasons why that team, in my opinion, hasn’t had any real leadership and hasn’t had any real direction.”
“I always said it’s not a tough place to work, it’s an impossible place to work,” Gannon said. “I left there on a high note. I went to four straight Pro Bowls, was league MVP. I don’t have any bad feelings about the place. I just know how difficult it was for me and I just look at the people that have left. Mike Shanahan leaves and wins two Super Bowls. Jon Gruden leaves and wins a Super Bowl. Norv Turner is having success in San Diego. To let people like that leave, particularly a guy like Jon Gruden who really worked and really threw every ounce of energy he had into the place. To let him leave the way he did was just a mistake.
I think this just goes to prove that Al Davis has lost his marbles. These are some of the bigger stars that have come through the raider organization in the last 10 years. These guys would know what is going on behind the scenes. Everyone in football knows that Al Davis is an idiot, the guy just needs to step out of the spotlight already. I do feel bad for raider nation I must admit and I am a Broncos fan…
January 14th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
BTW, that “I’m a bronco fan” is a quote from a comment in the article I posted. I didn’t say that. Beside, Oakglenn’s already saying that I’m a Niner fan under my name, isn’t he? LOL. Anyhow, Oakglenn, got plenty more comments about Davis coming your way, little homo.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:35 pm
SnB offense defense specialteams Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
I am indifferent to the political stuff and tend to stay away from it. Therefore, I don’t have a comment one way or another.
All I am saying is that focus and discussion on Al Davis is more than appropriate given the circumstances.
Its not like we are Patriots fans complaining or, hell, even Bengals fans upset that we lost in the 1st round.
Anyway…what do I think needs to happen:
1. Hire a General Manager and give him authority on football decisions
2. Find a head coach that believes in the concepts that the Raiders favor….and give that coach the freedom to do what he has to do to manage the roster and starting lineup and have real input into the draft
3. Let head coach pick his staff from Coordinators to Strength and Conditioning
4. Focus the early rounds on O-Line and D-Line and nothing else
5. Trade for or sign in free agency a veteran MLB that is proven and is a leader
6. Have the coordinators take direction from the head coach and no one else
7. Name Michael Bush the FULL TIME starter at running back with DMAC in to spell him
8. Turn DMAC into a Percy Harvin type player (isn’t that something that Harvin was a rookie?) that’s how a 1st round pick is supposed to help the team
9. Keep Fargas but limit his role to spot duty
10. Name Louis Murphy and Chaz Schilens the starters (PERIOD)
11. Restructure Huff’s contract or trade him..he is not an elite player
12. Have Gradkowski, Losman, JaDavis and another veteran have a no-holds barred competition…if JaDavis can’t win the starting job or shows up out of shape etc…cut him
13. I really don’t know what to do about DHB…what a horrible pick
14. Re-sign Richard Seymour
Those are a few things I would do
—–
I can’t argue with any of that logic. I’m sure you also have an opinion on special teams (punt and kickoff returners). This was an especial area of pain for me to watch this past year. If injuries continue to plague us, we need a contingency plan. The fact that we didn’t have one this year was a bad, bad move. We also need a stadium. Demo existing structure and rebuild a football only stadium. Move the A’s to a new site, preferably in Oaktown. Fire Herrera would also be a priority.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
whomever the REAL MADDENRAIDER is has way way too much time for yourself, holy schitt dude it’s like your writing a book, all i know is it doesnt matter if cable stays, which i think the players lik ehim, BUT they have to get rid of JA-MAN-BOOBS or it will be another 5-11 or 4-12 season, he is the biggest bust since ryan leaf, i think he’s even worse, get a decent coach and let GRADKOWSKI start and we’ll be at least contending next season
January 14th, 2010 at 9:37 pm
The Raiders’ John Herrera vs. me in front of the cameras today: Well, THAT was fun
Posted by Tim Kawakami on September 22nd, 2008 at 3:49 pm | Categorized as NFL, Raiders
* See the video at the bottom of this post..
… I guess there’ll be some interest in that. I’m 1,000% comfortable with anybody seeing it and judging that moment for what it is. You take you best look at it and come to whatever conclusion you want. Raiders lovers will hate me more–I’d be disappointed if the Black Hole took my side. The more semi-sane sports fans might come to a different understanding.
I feel bad for Raiders employees. I really do. I understand the unique pressures and paranoia involved when you work for Al Davis. I talk to enough people who used to work for him to know.
I have a feeling at some point John Herrera and I will sit back and laugh about this. Maybe not for a while, but we probably will. I think he’s normally a very nice man.
It’s fairly entertaining when you can step back and see it from far away. It’s illustrative and it’s a little sad, again, in an always entertaining way. This is what the once-great franchise is reduced to?
But when it’s running up to you and screaming in your face and calling you a liar and apparently intimating that I was dabbling in counter-culture activities with a national NFL writer? HUH? In front of every local TV station, to be shown at 6 and 11 I would guess? Well, now!
(With Lane Kiffin beaming like a Cheshire Cat as he walked past us, by the way. Beaming like the happiest man on earth. Glad to give you a giggle, LK. I’m SURE Kiffin and I will have a laugh about this one… fairly soon. Oh by the way: He’s not fired yet, but it’s still pending.)
Oh man, that’s really really interesting to walk into the heart of the Raiders. That’s what happened to me just a little while ago and it was like dropping into Wonderland for few minutes–I could see what the Raiders see, I could feel what the Raiders feel, I was really tapped into the mania.
Man, it was trippy. Head-spinning. Hallucinatory.
Herrera brought me there by angrily confronting me about a question I asked Kiffin. I feel bad for the guy (well for BOTH guys), but Herrera’s the one who closed Kiffin’s Monday news conference by stepping up to me, shouting at me, calling me a liar.
I didn’t get mad. You’ll see the video. I wasn’t mad. I was interested: THIS IS WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE
INSIDE THE RAIDER MANIA.
It was crazy. It was other-worldly, where normal truths didn’t mean anything. Yep, I feel like I know the Raiders soooo well now.
Here was my question to Kiffin: Given that there are reports (that Kiffin earlier didn’t deny) that Raiders officials have told him he’s going to be fired, given that we all know a Raiders official distribued printed copies of an espn.com article critical of Kiffin, given that Kiffin came to today’s news conference without a single item of Raiders garb…
… How isolated does Kiffin feel in this organization?
(I know, a long question. But Kiffin was there with me on it. He understood.)
Here was Herrera’s point: NO Raider official ever distributed such a negative article.
OK, since John is making a point of this, I can say that I know that it was Herrera who handed it out. I didn’t write his name at the time–because, again, I feel for Raiders employees and the grunt work they have to do for Al’s paranoia–but I will now.
If John’s going to scream in front of five TV cameras about it, I guess he’s volunteering himself right there.
I’m not the only one who knows what John did. By far not the only one. Oh well, in Wonderland, I guess John can alter reality. Fine. Wonderland is weird.
Here’s a bit of what John said–I wasn’t taking notes, but my reporter friends were taping it, since it was practically part of the Kiffin news confference, so here’s a partial transcript:
“You built a whole column on a lie!” Herrera said. “So did Lowell Cohn! So did your [REFERENCE DELETED BY ME BY REQUEST OF A FORMER BOSS OF MINE] Mike Silver.”
Yikes! Silver is a respected journalist and I don’t know what he does in private, but geez, John Herrera, Silver’s not exactly one of my confidantes. (It’s vice-versa, of course.)
Cohn, I can’t vouch for. (I kid, I kid! I respect nobody in this market more than Lowell, which you already know.)
I said: A lot of people in this room know the truth about the negative story, John.
I said: You’re embarrassing yourself.
“I’m not embarrassing myself,” Herrera said, “I’m embarrassed that you don’t know how to write a column…. Nothing was distributed in this room. Nothing. You are a liar.”
I’m not a liar. Raiders fans might think so, I don’t know. In Al Davis Wonderland, maybe, I’m a liar. But on this point, I will go to the mat.
OK, now I’ve got to write a story on Kiffin, though I’m out of Wonderland and it feels weird.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:38 pm
# usmarine338 Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 9:36 pm
whomever the REAL MADDENRAIDER is has way way too much time for yourself, holy schitt dude it’s like your writing a book, all i know is it doesnt matter if cable stays, which i think the players lik ehim, BUT they have to get rid of JA-MAN-BOOBS or it will be another 5-11 or 4-12 season, he is the biggest bust since ryan leaf, i think he’s even worse, get a decent coach and let GRADKOWSKI start and we’ll be at least contending next season
………………
Shut up, girl.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
MR,…please, we can really only do like 2 sentence posts, those novels, well, we arent built for those,..dumb them down please.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
# Norco Bob Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
MR,…please, we can really only do like 2 sentence posts, those novels, well, we arent built for those,..dumb them down please.
…………..
Shut up, moron.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
http://justblogbaby.com/files/2010/01/No-Talent-Ass-Clown-copy.jpg
January 14th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
John Herrera: No Talent Ass Clown
Posted by: Chris Shellcroft
No Talent Ass Clown
Congrats, Herrera! You’ve earned the title.
Congratulations to Raiders Senior Executive John Herrera! You’ve officially earned the vaunted title of No Talent Ass Clown.
From this day forward, you’ll be forever a part of a special club that boasts of such legendary members as Michael Bolton, Gilbert Arenas, George W. Bush, John Edwards, 50 Cent, Paul Walker, Bill Maher and Elisabeth Hasselbeck just to name a few.
After assaulting Tim Kawakami on camera last year, we finally understood why Al Davis had so much faith in you. That was a special moment. Only a chosen few would dare to ascribe to such levels of professionalism. As Morpheus once said, “There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.” You, sir, are not only putting your foot prints deep into the path of professional ineptitude, you’re blazing a new trail for others to follow in the future.
The Kawakami incident was a bold step towards Ass Clown status but it wasn’t enough to seal the deal.
Then, you went out and topped yourself one year later by waging a public war with Rich Gannon. What an amazing talent you are, Herrera. The genius to ban Gannon from the facility for doing his job as a broadcaster. The sheer bravery displayed when reminding us all that the former MVP tossed 5 picks in the Super Bowl when that had nothing to do with why he was being asked off the CBS broadcast to begin with. While others were silent, you stepped forward and called out Gannon for his comments that were insensitive to 9/11.
Then, yesterday, you delivered the final blow as you broke Gannon’s olive branch in half and tossed it back into his face then reassured us all that JaMarcus Russell is in Las Vegas for a “legitimate reason” with a Raiders staff member.
Great work, Herrera! You make Raider Nation proud!
I’m sure that by writing this I’ll never be allowed into the Coliseum again. That’s fine by me. I’ll be more than happy to drink a few beers in the parking lot with Gannon as we chat about all the things a former MVP could teach a young quarterback with a wealth of untapped potential.
If you want to know why the Oakland Raiders have fallen off the face of the football map, with only the Detroit Lions waiting to break their fall, then take a good look at the face of Herrera.
No, he’s not the only problem. He’s not even the biggest problem. But he sure isn’t part of the solution.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
MR
If Brown gets into the hall, who will he ask to induct him?
January 14th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
# Rayda23059 Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
MR
If Brown gets into the hall, who will he ask to induct him?
…………………
Me.
So many more articles about Al Davis coming, you have no idea.
A
January 14th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Shannahan (inducting Sharpe) on the same stage as Al (inducting Brown), classic.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
MR, you’re gonna get a reputation as being biased unless you post at least 1 favorable article about AD. LOL
January 14th, 2010 at 9:51 pm
# Rayda23059 Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 9:48 pm
Shannahan (inducting Sharpe) on the same stage as Al (inducting Brown), classic.
……………….
You know what’s classic?
And also more relevant than anything you have to say, about anything?
Articles about Al Davis!!!
…………………..
Sapp says Kiffin treated unfairly, blames Davis for Raiders’ mess
Comment Email Print Share
ESPN.com news services
How dysfunctional are the Oakland Raiders? So dysfunctional that Warren Sapp warns anybody who asks him about signing there to stay far away.
“Nobody tells you how bad it is,” the former defensive tackle said on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.” ” … any person that calls me on the telephone, [I tell them] do not go anywhere near Oakland.”
Sapp, who retired after the 2007 season — his fourth with the Raiders — said that Lane Kiffin, fired this week by owner Al Davis, never got a fair chance in Oakland.
“He came in there with a change of mentality. The whole system,” Sapp said on “Inside the NFL.” “He changed how the locker room looked because it was going to take that kind of overhaul for Oakland to become the proud franchise we all knew it was.”
Warren Sapp
Al Davis knows football — it’s just ’60s and ’70s football. That’s what it is. He’s thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field — deep ball, deep ball, deep ball.
– Warren Sapp
Sapp said Oakland won’t change for the better until Davis doesn’t own the team anymore.
“[Davis] is the common equation,” Sapp said on “Inside the NFL.” “You take him out, put him at home watching film or whatever he is doing — you have a functioning football organization. But once he comes over the top, he goes and starts moving it around.
“Al Davis knows football — it’s just ’60s and ’70s football. That’s what it is. He’s thinking that Cliff Branch is outside and [Jim] Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field — deep ball, deep ball, deep ball.”
Sapp even said that Davis would call in plays when Sapp was playing for the Raiders.
“I remember the first two weeks I was there, we played a preseason game. Somebody came up one time and said, ‘We’re going deep right here, dog.’ I said, how do you know? He said, ‘The phone just rang.’
“All the preparation that goes into a week of work is there, the practicing that you have to put in order to do these things, sometimes [Al Davis] messed with that part of it and that’s what kills you,” Sapp said on “Inside the NFL.”
He cited one particular example of a Raiders defensive game plan being thrown out the window at the last minute. Sapp said Davis was behind it.
“Al Davis is the total bottom line, buck stops right there,” said Sapp. “I remember one time we had a defensive game plan because we were struggling against the run. We were going to get our safeties and put them up in the box and almost have a nine-man front. We practiced this thing 80 percent of the time on Wednesday and Thursday. We showed up that Friday morning, [defensive coordinator] Rob Ryan came in and he looked like someone had just shot his dog. He said he [Davis] pulled it on us … He snatched the teeth out of our defense.”
January 14th, 2010 at 9:52 pm
# Rayda23059 Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
MR, you’re gonna get a reputation as being biased unless you post at least 1 favorable article about AD. LOL
……………
A reputation for being biased against Al Davis?
There’s another word for it.
It’s SANE.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:53 pm
Sapp comments may support Kiffin’s claim Davis tampered with defense
Comment Email Print Share
By Chris Mortensen
ESPN.com
Archive
If you follow the three-day trail from Sept. 10 to 12 that led to the firing of Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin this week, Warren Sapp’s words on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” could support Kiffin’s anticipated grievance against Raiders owner Al Davis.
“Al Davis is the total bottom line, buck stops right there,” said Sapp, who played for the Raiders from 2004 to ‘07. “I remember one time we had a defensive game plan because we were struggling against the run. We were going to get our safeties and put them up in the box and almost have a nine-man front. We practiced this thing 80 percent of the time on Wednesday and Thursday. We showed up that Friday morning, [defensive coordinator] Rob Ryan came in and he looked like someone had just shot his dog. He said he [Davis] pulled it on us. … He snatched the teeth out of our defense.”
Warren Sapp
Sapp
In the Sept. 12 letter Davis shared with the media Tuesday to explain his firing of Kiffin without pay, he referred to a “fabrication” the coach made over Davis’ input into the defense.
On Sept. 10, following Oakland’s 41-14 season-opening loss to the Denver Broncos, Kiffin was asked by the media why the Raiders didn’t blitz more often on defense.
“Well, we talked about it early in the week,” Kiffin said. “Rob [Ryan, the defensive coordinator] and the owner are always in communication. For the most part, I let Rob do his thing over there. He has a belief in certain things and he has a conversation with the owner about that. So, that wasn’t the way the game plan ended up the other night.”
The next day, Sept. 11, Ryan unexpectedly had his own news conference, claiming that what Kiffin said “is just wrong and I want to make sure you got it right. I meet with the owner in the offseason. He’s the boss, he’s the man that hired me, and that’s been well-documented. I don’t meet with him on game plans or come up with all this. It’s amazing when things like this come out when we have a bad week. Put it on me, that’s where it belongs. I’m the man that runs the defense.”
A team source said Davis ordered Ryan to refute Kiffin’s claims.
One day later, Sept. 12, the letter Davis gave Kiffin included the following content:
“In regards to your recent fabrications about the defense, during the final cuts you made every cut on offense and every cut on defense except for [Fred] Wakefield on defense and [Seth] Wand on offense. Furthermore, during the game Monday night [defensive coordinator] Rob [Ryan] played your Cover-2 defense and we got killed on an approximately 50-yard touchdown pass and an approximately 70-yard gain that led to a field goal.
“You meet every week with the defensive coaches to go over both the past game and to get a general feel for what will happen during the week in practice. You have the ability and authority to provide your input during those meetings and the preparation of the game plan. I do not have weekly meetings with Rob — you do.
“During the week no one has ever told you what to do on either offense or defense. In addition, no one has ever told you during a game what to do on either offense or defense and you call every play on offense. During a game if you want to blitz more, all you have to do is let Rob know what blitz you want and he will do it.”
In firing Kiffin “for cause,” Davis terminated the coach without pay with a balance on a contract reportedly between $2.6 million and $3.5 million.
Kiffin’s attorneys are expected to file a grievance with the NFL on whether Davis is obligated to honor financial terms of the contract.
A voice mail was left for a Raiders spokesman seeking a response to Sapp’s comments that Davis indeed is involved with the defense. As of Thursday evening, the Raiders had not returned the phone call.
Chris Mortensen is a senior NFL analyst for ESPN.
January 14th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Fisticuffs, insubordination not new for Raiders
Michael Silver
By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports Aug 20, 1:14 pm EDT
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NAPA, Calif. – The 80-year-old legend sat silently in a motorized cart, watching his most-dreaded football nightmare play out in all its twisted splendor. There were Al Davis’ Oakland Raiders on Wednesday morning, hosting the third of four joint training camp practices with the San Francisco 49ers, getting physically and verbally abused by their cross-Bay rivals and meekly submitting to the butt-whipping.
“I love it when they can’t compete!” 49ers cornerback Nate Clements(notes) screamed after intercepting Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell(notes) in a lopsided red-zone drill, setting off a barrage of condescending cackles from the visitors in red and gold.
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Photo Cable, left, being introduced as the interim coach by Davis last September.
(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty)
As his obviously intimidated offense continued to struggle, and the 49ers celebrated each interception with cocksure elation, Davis couldn’t have been thrilled by his team’s passivity. Yet in one sense, the Raiders’ lack of fight could have been construed as a promising sign. After learning earlier this week that the NFL will investigate an Aug. 5 incident in which defensive assistant Randy Hanson was hospitalized with a fractured jaw – reportedly sustained during an altercation with head coach Tom Cable, who has denied his involvement – Davis has once again been confronted with a culture steeped in incidents involving internal turmoil.
(On Wednesday night a source close to Hanson told Yahoo! Sports that the coach is back in a hospital because of swelling in his jaw. The source insisted Cable “is definitely” responsible for the injury and that “I was told Tom had to be pulled off of him two times.”)
Violent confrontations between employees is nothing new for a franchise that has compiled the NFL’s worst overall record (24-72) during the past six seasons. Interviews with numerous current and former players, coaches and front-office employees reveal a consistent pattern of physically charged clashes, most of which went unreported. In addition, the principals rarely incurred overt discipline, creating the impression that lawlessness is a way of life in Raiderland.
“It’s never a dull moment,” says USC receivers coach John Morton, who worked for the Raiders in various capacities from 1997-2004. “It’s hard to be a Raider – it’s not for everybody. If you’re a player or coach, you’ve got to have thick skin. And every time you hear something about the Raiders, it’s something that’s kind of crazy.”
Added another former Raiders assistant who recently worked for the team: “The environment sucks there. Everybody just wants their side to do well so Al doesn’t call them out. Trust me, after what just happened with Cable, this staff already knows they’re fired.”
Given that Davis, among NFL owners, has unrivaled involvement in the day-to-day operation of his franchise, there’s no question that he bears a great deal of responsibility for the contentious environment.
“I just think that’s Al’s way,” says Packers cornerback Charles Woodson(notes), who spent his first eight NFL seasons (1998-2005) in Oakland. “There are forces pulling you every which way, and it just seems like people are never on the same page.”
Or, as one Raiders veteran said earlier this week in response to the Cable incident, “Just another day at the office around here. You know how that goes. It’s always something.”
Among the incidents recalled by that player and some of his former teammates and coaches was a practice-field confrontation at the team’s Alameda, Calif., training headquarters late in 2004 between Morton, then the team’s tight ends coach, and tight end Teyo Johnson(notes). It occurred three days before the final regular-season game after Johnson, an underachieving ’03 second-round NFL draft pick, ran the wrong route in practice.
Several witnesses say that, after Morton loudly upbraided Johnson for his mistake, the player angrily got in the coach’s face and shoved him in the chest. The two men screamed at one another in close proximity before they were separated by players and coaches.
“No, he didn’t push me,” Morton insists. “He got up in my face and chest-bumped me or something. He just snapped and started going off – you know, a player being macho. You’ve got to know your limitations.”
The confrontation brought an end to practice, and as Johnson walked off the field, one former player remembers Davis’ odd reaction: “He was standing in the north end zone and as Teyo walked by Al said, ‘Teyo – you can’t win ‘em all.’ ”
According to the same player Johnson was not disciplined by Davis or then-coach Norv Turner. Johnson remained on the roster until the following summer, when he was released at the end of the preseason. Morton was not retained after the ’04 season.
“They fired the coach and kept the player,” the former player said. “That’s what they do in Oakland.”
In October of 2005 another incident occurred, this time with the coach as the aggressor. According to several people who witnessed the incident, Martin Bayless, then Oakland’s defensive backs coach, got physical with then-rookie cornerback Stanford Routt(notes) in the Oakland Coliseum locker room following the Raiders’ 38-17 victory over the Buffalo Bills.
Witnesses say Bayless was enraged that Routt, who is still with the team, had refused to enter the game as part of the field-goal rush unit, forcing a veteran to race onto the field in his place. Bayless, who did not return messages seeking comment, chewed out Routt at the player’s locker shortly after the game, and things quickly escalated.
“[Bayless] jacked him up into his locker and shoved him down,” recalls one witness who played for the ’05 Raiders.
These as-yet-unreported incidents came in the wake of a high-profile 2003 assault by linebacker Bill Romanowski on teammate Marcus Williams. Punched by Romanowski following a practice-field dispute, Williams sustained a serious eye injury that effectively ended his career. He later filed a civil suit against his Romanowski and was ultimately awarded $340,000 in damages.
“That [punch] got the publicity, but I saw so many things like that,” says one former Raiders player who is now with another team. “I saw a player push a coach and get his game check taken away. Other players would cuss out coaches and get away with it. One coach made a smartass comment and a player pushed him almost to the ground. I saw a coach take a swing at a player. Coaches were verbally going after other coaches. And guys were getting drunk in meetings or coming to practice still drunk from the night before. They’d throw up before we went out on the field, or you could smell the liquor on their breath.”
Some of the franchise’s dysfunction was revealed last Sept. 30 when Davis, in a televised news conference that lasted more than 90 minutes, announced that he had fired second-year coach Lane Kiffin and was promoting Cable, then the offensive line coach, as the interim replacement. Davis said he was firing Kiffin “for cause” – meaning he intended to withhold the balance of the coach’s contract – and part of his case included Kiffin’s treatment of Hanson, the team’s second-year assistant defensive backs coach.
After Hanson reportedly made a derogatory remark in a coach’s meeting following the team’s 41-14 defeat to the Denver Broncos in the ’08 season opener, Kiffin suspended him for five days without Davis’ knowledge.
Following the season, Davis retained Cable as head coach but purged defensive coordinator Rob Ryan and the rest of the team’s defensive assistants – except for Hanson, who remained on the staff with a new title.
According to several sources, Hanson was seen as a Davis favorite and confidante, and thus was resented by numerous players and coaches, particularly Cable.
“Randy Hanson thought he was the smartest guy in the world,” one former Raiders player says. “In our first game [in ’07], we went up against [offensive coordinator] Mike Martz and the Lions, and he went around bragging that he had ‘cracked the code.’ That game [a 36-21 Detroit victory] was a joke – we were out there guessing and getting our asses kicked. In the fourth quarter Martz didn’t call a single play that Randy Hanson had ever seen. Yeah, he sure ‘cracked that code.’ ”
Hanson, several former and current players say, was suspected by his peers of feeding information to Davis.
“The guy’s considered a snitch,” says one player who was with the team in 2007. “Al would come to practice every Thursday and see what we had installed, so if Rob [Ryan] or Lane wanted to put something in the game plan without him knowing, they’d have to put it in for the Friday practice or the [Saturday] walk-through. But [Davis] would find out and get mad, and they thought Hanson was the guy telling him. We didn’t trust him, either.”
It’s unclear whether Cable’s potential mistrust of Hanson precipitated the Aug. 5 incident that landed the assistant in the hospital, but several sources familiar with the two men believe this was the case. On Monday, AOL FanHouse reported that Cable had hit Hanson and that the assistant “never saw it coming.” A police report taken at Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa on Aug. 6 identified neither Hanson nor the attacker.
Hanson was not at practice on Monday when the FanHouse report surfaced and has not been spotted in at the Raiders’ facilities since (as of Wednesday evening). At the start of their Monday afternoon practice a group of Raiders made light of the incident, chanting “Cable, Bumaye” – a reference to the “Ali, Bumaye” chant in Zaire during the 1974 “Rumble In The Jungle” heavyweight fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. (The chant translates to “Cable Kill Him!)
On Monday Cable declined to discuss the reported incident, calling it an internal matter. He reversed course in a conversation that evening with ESPN analyst Mark Schlereth, his former teammate at the University of Idaho, claiming “nothing happened” – words he repeated to a large gathering of reporters after the first joint practice with the 49ers on Tuesday morning.
Hanson, according to one friend, is deliberately sitting back on the advice of his lawyers while Cable and other Raiders officials make potentially damning statements. It is believed by some in the organization that Davis will compensate Hanson for his trouble and attempt to remedy the situation by shifting him to the personnel department.
Photo Cable with Russell during last week’s preseason opener.
(Jed Jacobsohn/Getty)
On Wednesday, as Romanowski looked on as a credentialed camp visitor, the Raiders’ offensive unit appeared shell-shocked in its competition with the fired-up 49ers, who grew louder with each interception or pass-breakup. Afterward, Cable blamed himself for the struggles, telling reporters he’d instructed Russell to “cut it loose” near the end zone, which led to unnecessary risks.
However, Cable questioned his players’ passive reaction to the beat-down, adding, “Those kinds of things happen to you in a game, so you’ve got to be able to handle those adversity moments and just get back on the horse and go again. I didn’t think we did a very good job of that, but I may have put them in a negative situation, too.”
If Cable is found by the league to be culpable in the Hanson incident, he may have put his players in a negative situation that could set a tenuous tone for the ’09 season and put his job in jeopardy.
Then again, as his owner could certainly attest, you can’t win ‘em all
January 14th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Mort is the senior dipshyt for BSPN….hey MR, old buddy, all these long posts,..will ya get to the point?…you are getting to one arent ya?
January 14th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Mr,mrs,or Mrs,Mr, please stfup,both come off as IDIOTS,no? Wish both of you nothing but the worst,that being said,carry on w/crap spewing from Non RAIDER fans,period! out
January 14th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
# Norco Bob Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 9:55 pm
Mort is the senior dipshyt for BSPN….hey MR, old buddy, all these long posts,..will ya get to the point?…you are getting to one arent ya?
……………..
Dude, you’re senior dypshyt. You have no idea how many more Davis articles are on the way. There’s not enough norcos in the world.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:01 pm
# gilbert Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 9:58 pm
Mr,mrs,or Mrs,Mr, please stfup,both come off as IDIOTS,no? Wish both of you nothing but the worst,that being said,carry on w/crap spewing from Non RAIDER fans,period! out
…………………..
You STFU. And enjoy the Davis articles. Hundreds more on the way.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
More articles?…on Mr Davis?…crap,..brb,..Norcos wont work,…getting a couple Somas.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:02 pm
And I wish you nothing but the worst, too, Gilbert. Which isn’t much change anyway in your case.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:03 pm
OMG, anything but Warren Sapp quotes.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
MR,..tou love Davis that much?…I like the guy too, but wont post all those article from other people,..I actually dont know how to cut and paste, or maybe I would too.
January 14th, 2010 at 10:15 pm
mrs,screw you and any articles you like,NON RAIDER fan,MORON! Have a nice evening,hope you trip and fall,wake up a smarter man,blog lifer
January 14th, 2010 at 10:19 pm
MR,..could you post an article on how to cut and paste others articles?…oldkell wont show me.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Do Real MaddenRaider, KoolKell, Richochet act like this all the time? If they do, man you got some real winners in here. Where did you guys find idiots like these?
January 14th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
# Seymour Bush Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Do Real MaddenRaider, KoolKell, Richochet act like this all the time? If they do, man you got some real winners in here. Where did you guys find idiots like these?
=====================
You actually think this ignorant crap confuses anyone, Aig??
“Do they act like this all the time”?? lol..you sorryass excuse for a man.
Admit it, Aig…you’re a coward.
What kind of man beats his wife?
What kind of man admits he’s afraid of other guys just walking down the street?
January 14th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
So, lst I was oakglen, now I am a wife beater named Aig. Richochet, you are bouncing like a battered pinball again. Richochet you are a loon. You are a flat out delusional loon. Something is wrong with you mentally. I’m not jivin, pal, something is wrong with your brain. Whatever it is, you need professional help. Turn off the internet, and get professional help, this is just not getting it done for you.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
In Al’s defense; You could say some of the old “Al genius” was at work when he hired Kiffin. Kiffin is regarded (obviously) as a great young coach or else USC would not have hired him. Last check, USC is regarded as one of the top programs in college football. Al hired him first and gave him the exposure he needed.
Kiffin is indeed a “liar”. Look what he did to Tennessee football; promised the world and now has set that program back another 5 yrs. Kinda like the Raiders. Point is, Al “found” Kiffin first. What about Gruden? Last check he was doing pretty good for himself and is highly regarded. Who gave him his first shot at HC? Al.
Al still has some good football smarts left in the tank. He got hoodwinked by Kiffin, as did a proud football program like Tennessee. Kiffin is a first class POS for what he did to Tennessee; promising the world then dumping on ‘em first chance he got.
The problem with Al is his ego. Al would rather be right and lose than change and admit he’s wrong. I don’t think Al is a retarded, senile imbecile, I just think he is stubborn. Stubborn to the point we will continue to lose, and lose and lose.
Al Davis does not deserve all of you here even talking about him and his f’d up franchise. I’m here because I have a sickness; a mental illness that makes me interested in seeing the Raiders return to winning ways, when there is no reason to even believe it will ever happen again as long as that stubborn old mule still runs this “team”.
I wish Al still gave a crap about winning, but the only thing he cares about is being right. Until he commits to winning football games, I say we should all just give it up and wait till he does start doing things that will make the Raiders a team that can at least finish .500.
Empty the Coliseum and send this guy a message that we won’t take his crap anymore.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:28 pm
# Seymour Bush Says:
January 14th, 2010 at 11:13 pm
So, lst I was oakglen,
RICHOCHET: Wrong, lying crock of crap..called you out from your first posts. YOU thought you would diversion reply with your idiot take about being Oakdork. Sorry, asswipe..YOU brought up Oakdork.
Your sorryass was exposed from day one, fool.
Hey..If I were you?
If I got slapped down as badly as you did?
If I got exposed as a piece of crap wife beater?
If I proved I don’t know a thing about football?
I’d change my name too.
Hell..when you’re a loser, and at the bottom..what do you have to lose?
###########################3
now I am a wife beater named Aig.
===============================
Correction: You’re the coward Aig.
http://www.ibabuzz. com/oaklandraiders/2009/10/22/nfl-statement/
Scroll down that thread.
Look at Alisgod’s comments to MR.
Look at Alisgod’s comments to MrBrown…to dude..to me..to others..
AND NOW???
Oddly..lol…which posters has Seymour, a “new” poster, just out of the blue starts insulting? MrBrown…MR…me..the EXACT SAME PEOPLE AIG MADE THE SAME COMMENTS TO.
“coincidence”? lol…me thinks not.
Seymour is Alisgod..who is also posting under MR’s name..just like the wife beater, Alisgod did with my name a while back.
Mods??
I think a permanent IP ban is in order..and yes, AIG, as they pop up, your other IP’s will also be examined.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:42 pm
[...] Read more. [...]
January 14th, 2010 at 11:49 pm
Rich,..have you ever considered popping Norcos once in a while,..you need a chill pill, hang in there.
January 14th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
You clearly spend tooooo much time figuring out who is who in here, or trying to figure out anyway, so far you havent figured out anything,…except how to raise your blood pressure.
January 15th, 2010 at 12:06 am
Friday will be spent with Cable wheeling Al and his oxygen to the top of this hill he kept talking about during the season. Al will be disgusted when he realizes Cable wasn’t speaking in metaphor and will fire him for cause.
“What cause, Mr. Davis?”
“BEcause!”
January 15th, 2010 at 1:07 am
Im standin by the old man….f everybody else.karpa set
January 15th, 2010 at 1:34 am
Give a man enough rope…. I told you the real MR was a complete fag. You are ruining this board. Go fuk yourself or kk if you like. Just leave toolbag. If you think the real MR should leave these boards for good for his childish behavior please say so. Show this ass clown what is really thought of his antics.
January 15th, 2010 at 1:54 am
Alright, Kell, I’m taking you up on your advice. I’m ratting this jerk out. Enough. LOL. Have fun, AIG, or whoever you are. They should have my email by the morning.
Richochet, thanks for exposing this fool. I know we’ve disagreed before but you’ve got a lot of street smarts, my friend. Well done.
January 15th, 2010 at 2:03 am
I’ve just read some more of the fraudulent RMR’s comments, and I’m thinking it’s Oakglenn, which could mean Oakglenn and AIG are the same.
1) Both believe Al is god.
2) Both are losers that would try such a thing.
3) Both hate Lane Kiffin and have to be upset about the USC deal right now, which is likely bringing out this desperate behavior.
Oakglenn, understand, I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to Al Davis either resigns or dies. And do you honestly think I’m going to cut back on bashing Al when his worshipers are playing games like this? I’m only bringing more heat now, kiddo.
January 15th, 2010 at 2:09 am
Anyone but Rob Ryan.
January 15th, 2010 at 2:28 am
morning nation
January 15th, 2010 at 2:46 am
to the real maddenraider, the one who posted all the articles. Thank you. I’m a younger guy in my 20’s but a Raiders fan going back to the time when they moved back from LA. thank you for posting all those articles and calling out all the BS that AD has done. The Raiders cannont succeed without any continuity and without AD stepping down or reducing his role. unfortunately that wont happen till the old man kicks the bucket.
and to all the AD supporters what kool aid are you drinking? do you enjoy losing this much? y’all must be la clipper fans too..
January 15th, 2010 at 4:46 am
Draft a corner Alvin baby
January 15th, 2010 at 5:08 am
Its worse when your having a rough time and you also got to hear people whinning…we are not like those other pussi teams,accept we will do it this way or just leave man…you whinners actually hold the team back and stop the them from winning…
Why dont you get behind the players like never before,instead of whinning like women….THIS IS IT, MAN UP!!
Dont disrespect the Legend, when hes gone ,you will all be here DEFENDING WHAT HE STOOD FOR,the way some of you are cursing Al,the guy built the Raiders,so it dont make sense,its HIS team…drink it
January 15th, 2010 at 5:23 am
Rhino, got to give you props, but you will experience a severe beating from too many negative nicks in this blog-dome. I personally am behind the organization, for better or worse. Sure, Al deserves the brunt of the blame for our 20 year mediocre record and associated negative media, but we are the one and only NATION, and must stay united.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:24 am
Morning NATION!!!!
January 15th, 2010 at 5:31 am
Ask our last Super Bowl MVP what he thinks of Al, get Mcnabb and draft a stud MLB,C and get Tim Brown in here to work with the wr core. Yeah it’s the fans fault were not winning sorry I couldn’t help you more Russell I’ll try harder this year and see twice as many games in person and lose twice as much gambling on my beloved Raiders.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:34 am
Good morning AM crew.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:43 am
While I have the utmost respect for Al Davis,you can’t hide from the truth.I’m silver and black till I die and I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Al,but only 6 winning seasons since 1989 speaks for it’s self.
I wish Al had retired a long time ago.His legacy is one of losing whereas it should have been one of winning.
I take no pleasure from what I have written,just the opposite.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:45 am
i can only think of two reasons for a professional player to like a coach…
1. he wins…
regardless of hardship, stress, difficulty, hard work, studying, less time off, etc… the guy wins…
and this translates to: more money in post season play… status, being winners instead of losers… bigger contracts in free agency…
2. he’s easy to play for…
borderline players can make the team… good players can coast… not as much is expected from them in the off-season… nice, easy life…
and this translates to: getting your ass kicked on sunday)…
so which kind of coach do you think Cable is???
January 15th, 2010 at 5:46 am
Good Morning Nation!!!
Its Friday, 3 day weekend coming (even though its supposed to rain all 3 days here), and still no news…wait…just read that Rob Ryan would be interested if Cable gets fired…ok…
January 15th, 2010 at 5:47 am
Rhino Says:
January 15th, 2010 at 5:08 am
Its worse when your having a rough time and you also got to hear people whinning…we are not like those other pussi teams,accept we will do it this way or just leave man…you whinners actually hold the team back and stop the them from winning…
Why dont you get behind the players like never before,instead of whinning like women….THIS IS IT, MAN UP!!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
i, florida pete, nominate the above post as the stupidest post of the century…
January 15th, 2010 at 5:48 am
And in other news…MR was bashing in here again…haha!
January 15th, 2010 at 5:49 am
Pete…
I think being a coach now as compared to 30-35 years ago is night and day.I wouldn’t want the job.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:52 am
Yeah, its all those fans who dress like empty seats and those that boo that makes the Raiders lose…part of being a winner is being able to accept that you are being booed (although I never boo my team) and move on and become better. So, because NE got booed heavily last Sunday, does that mean that they were the cause of NE losing, or was it really the Ravens D?
January 15th, 2010 at 5:53 am
You’re lucky Hwnrdr.It’s cold and it’s raining here ( rain in England ? what next ? ) and with a freezing cold wind……it’s awful.
January 15th, 2010 at 5:59 am
Kim Jong-il,Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Bin Laden are just some of the people I would rather have as Head coach than Rob Ryan.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:00 am
GOOD MORNING SPORT’S FAN’S, HWNRDR,NEILB,COFFEE / BLOODYMARY’S ON ME THIS MORNING, I THINK A MOVE WILL BE MADE MONDAY OR TUESDAY,AFETER THE WEEKENDS GAMES, JUST A HUNCH..
January 15th, 2010 at 6:02 am
You’re probably right Dirt Lot…because who wants news on a Friday evening when everyone is about to skip town due to a 3 day weekend!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:03 am
Morning Dirt-lot.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:04 am
Just caught on….Martin Luther King Day on Monday.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:06 am
You might be right Dirt-lot,unless he’s looking at an asst coach from one of the play-off teams.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:08 am
HE ALSO WOULD PROBABLY BE A BETTER HEADCOACH THAN ROB RYAN, NEILB…
January 15th, 2010 at 6:14 am
neilb Says:
January 15th, 2010 at 5:59 am
Kim Jong-il,Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Bin Laden are just some of the people I would rather have as Head coach than Rob Ryan.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
they are all lunatics…
however…
Kim Jong Il would be all lot of screaming and not much else… although the Raiderettes would see a huge upgrade in talent… and he would insist upon being called “dear leader”… and that is clearly too gay for the modern NFL…
Ah-made-a-dinna-jacket is just plain incompetent… he doesn’t like anything… not even himself… but on the bright side… he would never admit to losing a game… ever… he would insist that he was 16 and 0 every year…
Bin Laden however is Al’s kind of coach… stealth… over the top long bomb… players blowing up opposing running backs (literally!)… self sacrificing players… defenders of the silver and black… Al achbar!!! (AL is great) would be heard before every play… and the players would be playing for rewards in heaven…
um…
probably should keep Cable…
January 15th, 2010 at 6:20 am
Okay,they’ve got a down side but I’d still take them over Ryan.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:26 am
lmao Neilb!!!!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:29 am
HEY 4EVA, HOW R THING’S IN THE FINE STATE OF FLA, ?
January 15th, 2010 at 6:31 am
[...] McD: Open season on speculation Open season on speculation – Inside the Oakland Raiders – A look inside the world of the highly clas… __________________ RaideroftheSith aka [...]
January 15th, 2010 at 6:31 am
not 2 bad Dirt-Lot….been chilly for here,like 31 in the morning but going up to around 60-65 in the afternoon.Raining where you are I see?
January 15th, 2010 at 6:35 am
What happens on M.L.K. day anyway ??
January 15th, 2010 at 6:36 am
YES,RAIN AND FOG SEASON HERE IN CENTRAL CALIF.WHAT R THE NEWSPAPER’S SAY’N ABOUT THE RAIDER’S OVER THERE IF ANYTHING ?
January 15th, 2010 at 6:38 am
DHB is a player. Russell isn’t – Tim Brown
cool man, thats what I was thinking!
I think Tom Cable should be strapped to the goalpost.
then Michael Huff, Darren McFadden, Michael Bush & Javon Walker can each take turns punching him.
thats what you get for keeping me on the bench while guys like Eugene, Fargas & DHB stink it up on the field!
of course Hanson & Herrerra should get some shots in too. plus all the ex’s Tom abused.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:39 am
What happens on M.L.K. day anyway ??
***
Tom Cable gets fired!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:40 am
“strapped to the goalpost”…….maybe Al will have it written into the next Head coaches contract.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:41 am
Post 107…..LOL!!!!!!!!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:43 am
USE DUCTAPE,.
January 15th, 2010 at 6:44 am
neilb Says:
January 15th, 2010 at 6:35 am
What happens on M.L.K. day anyway ??
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
i think there’s a lot of mountain climbing…
January 15th, 2010 at 6:45 am
Kell goes to the barber shop for a free haircut.
thats about it
January 15th, 2010 at 6:46 am
and dreaming =)
January 15th, 2010 at 6:47 am
Dirt-Lot….not much about the Raiders,but the press is having a field day on that “gut-less” lame kitten lol
January 15th, 2010 at 6:47 am
shouldn’t herrera be strapped to that same goalpost???
or, better, strap him to the front of Al’s wheelchair on a ramp… then remove the brakes…
January 15th, 2010 at 6:48 am
Florida Pete Says:
January 15th, 2010 at 6:47 am
shouldn’t herrera be strapped to that same goalpost???
or, better, strap him to the front of Al’s wheelchair on a ramp… then remove the brakes…
With Otto kicking him with his one good leg…
January 15th, 2010 at 6:49 am
Dirt Lot…the only news in the local papers here is that Rob Ryan would be interested in the job if Cable is let go!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:50 am
Dirt-Lot….in Rocky-top the state legislators pas a resolution honoring the Vols football coach yearly.This year it was a unanimous NO!!!!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:50 am
2 FUNNY ROCKSTAR, HOW U DOING MAN ?
January 15th, 2010 at 6:51 am
Rob Ryan would be interested in the job if Cable is let go!
***
no doubt. Slob Ryan would indeed be an improvement as long as he doesn’t take on the defensive play calling
Blob Ryan would probably start the Walrus though. so nevermind. NO DEAL !!!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:54 am
the President isn’t advised to make anymore speeches in Missouri because every time he steps on the platform the old farmers start bidding on him!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:55 am
doing great Dirt Lot. you?
January 15th, 2010 at 6:55 am
test
January 15th, 2010 at 6:56 am
WOULD BE A GREAT DAY IF LANCE GOT BOUNCED OUT OF USC AFTER 1 YEAR,GUY COULD SET A RECORD 4 NUMBER OF PLACES COACHED IN A 5 YR SPAN…
January 15th, 2010 at 6:59 am
Ouch…that is bad Rockstar! Haha!
January 15th, 2010 at 6:59 am
sorry if that joke offended anyone.
I thought it was funny because I live in MO and they were the second to last state to free slaves (just 5 months before Texas)
heard that one last night. the wrong crowd perhaps? forgot most of you fellas are Cali democrats
I’ll get sued for using the term “black” haha
January 15th, 2010 at 6:59 am
I think so Dirt-Lot,even tho who wouldnt drop everything to coach at USC? I cant blame Kiff 4that
January 15th, 2010 at 7:01 am
whats next for Lane?
he’ll leave USC next year and take the Chargers HC job?
January 15th, 2010 at 7:02 am
No offense Rockstar…I laughed. People gotta keep an open mind to things sometimes. Like Eddie Murphy once said…if you get offended easily, then get the F out!
January 15th, 2010 at 7:04 am
NO PROBLEM HERE ROCKSTAR,THE DAMN, GOVENATER IS A DEM ALSO. JUST TO CHKNSHYT 2 ADMIT IT, HE IS MARRIED 2 A KENNEDY.THAT’S ALL U NEED 2 KNOW..
January 15th, 2010 at 7:08 am
will the next Raider HC (or Cable) accept the staff, including Randy Hanson ???
I’m wondering if Hanson will fill a bigger role now since Willie Brown has retired. you know Hanson is involved in the same 2 fields. scouting & DB’s
I don’t think he could handle being director of squad development though. That job goes to Danny Southwick
January 15th, 2010 at 7:08 am
new post!
January 15th, 2010 at 7:18 am
Yeah, I found that funny…Ah-nold is a Republican while he’s married to the Kennedy’s…
January 15th, 2010 at 7:47 am
What do ya’ll think of Rob Ryan’s comments of coaching the Raiders?
I’m sick of promoting asst. coaches to on the job training. Al thinks he’s always going to find a diamond in the ruff, and he’s cheap as it get’s when paying coaches. We need a proven head coach…
You pay for what you get, open up your checkbook.
January 15th, 2010 at 11:28 am
a
January 15th, 2010 at 3:39 pm
“Was advised not to think in conventional terms and not to assume anything.”
LMAO! Who the heck understands the ways of a double-digit consecutive loss team. Yeah, not thinking in conventional ways…REALLY WORKED.
January 16th, 2010 at 12:40 am
the REAL MADDENRAIDER needs to stop talking schitt over the internet, only a coward would do that, and i see i’m not the only one that thinks you have way too much time on your hands, here’s a clue…get a JOB
November 17th, 2011 at 3:17 am
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