Lane Kiffin baby!!!

[The Assassin]

Bow down to the greatness that IS the Oakland Raiders ladies!



USC O-coordinator Kiffin to be Raiders next coachBy John Clayton
ESPN.com


After failing to land Southern California assistant head coach Steve Sarkisian, the Oakland Raiders reached an agreement in principle on Monday to hire Trojans offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, ESPN.com has learned.

Kiffin accepted a five-year deal to be Art Shell's replacement. Late last week, Kiffin was offered the offensive coordinator job under Sarkisian. But Sarkisian turned down Oakland's offer, and the Raiders were left scrambling.

On Sunday, Raiders owner Al Davis reached out again to Kiffin, son of Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. Kiffin flew to Oakland Sunday night and spent all day Monday talking to Davis. As the evening approached, negotiations for a contract started and concluded quickly.

The 31-year-old Kiffin has been a six-year member of Pete Carroll's staff. Carroll hired him to coach tight ends in 2001. Kiffin switched to coaching wide receivers in 2002. In 2004, Kiffin took over passing game coordinator duties. Kiffin was then promoted to offensive coordinator in 2005. He also had recruiting coordinator responsibilities.

Davis has a long history of hiring young, offensive-minded head coaches and he particularly likes offensive play-callers. Kiffin has done that at the highest level of college football for the past few years. He's worked with top NFL draft prospects such as wide receiver Dwayne Jarrett and former Lions first-round pick Mike Williams, another wideout.

Kiffin spent the 2000 season in Jacksonville as a defensive quality control coach working with defensive backs.

As a player, Kiffin was a quarterback for Fresno State from 1994 to 1996. He was a three-sport high school star in Bloomington, Minn. He started his coaching career after college working as a grad assistant at Fresno State.

Kiffin is expected to keep Rob Ryan as his defensive coordinator.

John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com.


http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2739645




Now if we can get Matt Leinart,Reggie Bush,Dwayne Jarrett, and Lendale White into the fold its gonna be on like Donkey Kong!





Seriously folks...


I hope this kid knows what he has gotten himself into.

[Shoalzie]

The defense should still be strong...if he can turn around that offense and develop a QB, your fortunes can change very quickly.

[Laxplayer]

That's great. Hire a coach that is younger than most of the players. Desperate move by Al, who by the way is in very, very, very poor health. Who took him in a dead pool this year?

[poptart]

Desperate move by Al, who by the way is in very, very, very poor health.

Link ... ?

Or shall I assume you've somehow seen his medical records ... ?

Bring something substantial or STFU, jerk off.

[Laxplayer]

Easy there tiger. Why so testy? Check your PM.

[Frank Rizzo]

FUCK YARAHHHHH!!! WE GIOAT KIFEEN!!!

WE GIST JIUFFIEN WE GOITS THE HOTSTEST UP AND COMINGA COSCH YEAHH

ERRRRRAAIIIDERDS!!!

[kcdave]

Oh yea.

Art Shell could not do shit with that team, but this guy will? Bwa! It doesnt make a fuck who they hire right now, as the inmates are running the asylum.

Speaking of inmates, whats this I keep hearing about a trade for Ron Mexico? I even caught a report today with Moss and Porter in the mix. Bring it baby. I'd love nothing more than seeing Vick wearing the green and brown.

[War Wagon]

After failing to land Southern California assistant head coach Steve Sarkisian, the Oakland Raiders reached an agreement in principle on Monday to hire Trojans offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin, ESPN.com has learned.

Kiffin accepted a five-year deal to be Art Shell's replacement. Late last week, Kiffin was offered the offensive coordinator job under Sarkisian. But Sarkisian turned down Oakland's offer, and the Raiders were left scrambling.

So, when the duhs couldn't land their choice, they had to settle for the guy who was asked to be an assistant?

What a circus.

[poptart]

Sarkisian says he was not offered the job.
All he did was back out of consideration for the job.

So what if Kiffen was asked to be an assistant ... ?
A lot of people are ASKED to do/be a lot of things.
It's a total non-issue.


You've got NOTHING here except for media word games, and a deep-seated a hope that Oakland has filled it's head coaching position poorly.


Btw, I vote NO on Michael Vick.

I don't see it happening either.

[The Assassin]

OUCH


If you get The Sporting News than you've already read this.


NFL Expert Paul Attner
Profile | SportingBlog | Archive | E-mail Attner


Bad franchises: Blame the Raiders' mess on Al Davis
Print this | E-mail this | Comments on this article: 70

Posted: January 18, 2007



There won't be any postseason awards for these teams. They're the worst of the worst. In this week's magazine cover story, Sporting News examines how four franchises ended up in their current mess.



The feeble foursome: Raiders | Knicks | Blues | Orioles

Colleges: IU's football program is rock bottom

Readers' votes and jokes
He arrives at the Raiders' practice complex, frequently at night, after most everyone has left. His driver opens the door for him and starts the laborious process of getting Al Davis out of his car and into his office. The driver takes Davis' weakened legs and turns them toward the pavement, then pulls him up so he can put his hands on his walker. Then Davis moves through the dark, slowly, methodically, until he disappears behind the doors at the center of Raider Nation.

The man who once would show off his vigor at league meetings by having workout equipment delivered to his room has seen his body fail him these past few years, just as his franchise, the one he has controlled and manipulated for the past 43 seasons, likewise has deteriorated. The once proud and arrogant Raiders -- winners of three Super Bowls, the self-proclaimed "Team of the Decades" -- now are contenders for another title: worst franchise in pro sports.

And at the center of everything wrong about the team is majority owner Davis, at 77 increasingly frail yet still firmly in charge of every aspect of the operation, unwilling to step aside, unwilling or unable to move out of the past and deal with today's NFL.

Davis and the Raiders exist in a world unlike any in the league. He surely must have been angered by this season and its 2-14 ugliness. Yet until he fired coach Art Shell on January 4, the most visible sign of displeasure from Davis over the past few months came after a perceived slight to his team's legacy. NFL Network ranked the top 20 all-time Super Bowl winners; it placed the Raiders' 1983 champions 20th. Davis was outraged; the organization sent out e-mails to national media questioning how the network could not rate the team as perhaps the best ever.

That legacy is all Davis has left, and he guards it with remarkable zeal. Everything about the Raiders is their past, the titles, the Hall of Fame players. But the present? The joke around the NFL is that no one does losing better than the Raiders. Even in the best of times, it is a dysfunctional organization. But the crushing pressure generated by losing this season created an ongoing soap opera of laughable proportions. One star receiver was suspended for complaining about a practice, another admitted he dropped passes because he didn't care, the head coach publicly accused a team personnel executive of undermining the organization to the media, the new quarterback wondered at one point, "What have I gotten into?"

The results on the field were truly embarrassing. The Raiders set franchise records for most losses and fewest points scored. In the Davis era, which began in 1963 when he became coach and general manager, they never had been shut out twice at home nor had they lost nine straight games; both happened this season. They finished last in the league in points (10.5 per game), offense (246.2 yards per game), sacks allowed (72), turnovers (46) and takeaway/giveaway differential (minus-23). How bad is bad? The Raiders lost to Houston despite holding the Texans to minus-5 yards passing. They had nary a touchdown in their last three games; LaDainian Tomlinson singlehandledly scored 15 more touchdowns than the Raiders this season.

But this was not an anomaly. Since losing Super Bowl 37 after the 2002 season, their 15-49 record is the worst in the NFL, outdoing even the pathetic Lions'. Over the past 12 years, Oakland has had three winning seasons, two while Jon Gruden was coach. Even more telling: The Raiders have not won a Super Bowl in 23 years and have played for the NFL title just once in that span. But until now, they never had suffered four consecutive losing seasons. Until now, they never had gone two years without a division win.

If Gruden had stayed, this current mess might not be happening. But he couldn't coexist with Davis, who disliked seeing his coach receive much of the credit for the team's success. Nor would Gruden abide by Davis' constant interference. Gruden welcomed a trade after the 2001 season that landed him in Tampa; he promptly coached the Bucs to a win over the Raiders in Super Bowl 37. In the five years since Gruden's departure, Davis has gone through three head coaches.

"Al had the coach he needed in Gruden," one NFL team official says. "If they had been able to work together, none of what you see now would have happened. But Al doesn't want anyone else to be in the spotlight but him. When people began saying Gruden was the reason the Raiders were good, it was only a matter of time before he was gone."

Once, coaching or playing for the Raiders was a gem on a resume. John Madden won a Super Bowl and is in the Hall of Fame. Tom Flores won two rings and might get in one day. Now, no proven head coach will work for Davis. And most high-profile candidates won't interview. After the 2005 season, the Raiders even were turned down by a college coach, Louisville's Bobby Petrino, who recently took over the Falcons. Shell's hiring a year ago was a desperate move; he was the loyal Raider who had been fired once, in 1994, by Oakland because he no longer met Davis' expectations. Davis still can sign some big-name free agents -- LaMont Jordan being the prime example -- if the money is right. But it's no longer an honor to be in a Raiders uniform.

The Raiders remain undaunted. Chief executive Amy Trask says that any view of them should embrace a bigger picture, that during this decade they've been to two AFC title games and won three AFC West championships, more than any division rival. "It's important that when you look at 2006, you look at it in the perspective of the last seven years," Trask says. "It is really only fair to look at it in that context. We've always been able to regain success. We can turn this around, and we will turn it around."

What does Davis think? The Raiders did not make him available for an interview.

Still, the common thread through all of this -- the reign of success, the decay into ineptness -- is Davis. Figuring out how the Raiders got into this present state of disrepair starts with him.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is no doubting that Davis is one of the great football men in NFL history. He already is in the Hall of Fame, and his immense intelligence and keen football instincts built the Raiders into one of the most successful, popular sports franchises ever. "Al is the last of a breed," says Ron Wolf, the former Packers general manager who worked 24 years with the Raiders and Davis. "He is brilliant and still very, very sharp. He knows every part of the franchise -- coaching, personnel, business. He was great in every area. But the game has changed so much -- it's so big now, it just is different from what it once was."

But Davis is not different. He continues to be the Raiders' personnel chief. He no longer attends practices, but he reviews practice tape. He has last say on lineup changes, on roster decisions, on hiring assistant coaches, on both the final setup of the draft board and players who are selected. He studies tapes of opponents and has significant input into game plans and schemes.

In his last public appearance, in the locker room December 17 after a loss to the Rams, Davis alluded to the strain of his workload. "(Practice tape) takes so goddamn long to go through," he lamented. "It takes three hours to go through offense, defense, special teams, looking at every player and watching what they're doing tactically, strategy and all."

As is his habit, he rambled from subject to subject. At one point, he said, "What I say to you is: five decades, five Super Bowls, four head coaches, four different quarterbacks." And: "I want to win. Obviously in life, I like certain things. I like beautiful women more than unbeautiful women. I'm not in any way demeaning the unbeautiful women. I want to win, and I will win, and we will win for the Raiders, and we'll get this thing straightened out."

He wears all white or all black. That hasn't changed, either; on this day, white was the choice. As he talked, he leaned on his walker, his face pasty-white and hollow, his eyes reddened, his left leg in a brace, both legs betraying him with every step. "I want to get this (leg) thing well -- it's tough," he admitted. "No one seems to have an answer." Davis won't say what is wrong; evidently it is a nerve problem that has defied treatment and cure.

Once, when he was younger, he was good enough to handle all of his multiple tasks at a superior level. But that was before the era of salary caps and free agents, before rules changes hindered his ability to run players in and out, to pay them what he wanted, to cut them at will. His best players were Raiders for life; Madden and Flores were his only coaches for 19 consecutive seasons.

Now, things are different. "He has lost his fastball," says one NFL personnel man. "He used to be the best personnel guy in the league. Not anymore. Look at the Raiders' drafts. He still is picking defensive backs early; it's a joke. He is living in the past. The game and the kids have changed so much. It's not like when you had kids who wanted to play, who weren't overpaid, who worked hard. One or two bad guys can ruin it all. He is not willing to change how he does anything. He is going down with what he knows."

He never cared about character. If he had, those old Raiders teams, with John Matuszak and the rest, would not have been nearly as fun to watch. But now you get stuck with someone like Randy Moss and his large cap number and the whole roster is affected. "Maybe I need to pay more attention to character," he has told folks in the league.

He is difficult to work for, a demanding second-guesser who encourages paranoia, bickering and insecurity within the building. Too many of those employees are sycophants, loyalists whose duty is to agree with him and reinforce the Raiders' legacy and his role in creating it. The Raiders always seem angry, defensive, wary of conspiracies.

This season, we briefly got a glimpse of the dysfunction. At a news conference in late November, Shell astonishingly called out a team employee, whom he did not name, and lambasted him for undermining the Raiders by criticizing offensive coordinator Tom Walsh, a close friend of Shell's, to national media. "There has been an attack on my (football) family," said Shell, and he referred to the employee as a "fox inside your chicken coop." Reporters immediately knew Shell was referring to senior personnel executive Mike Lombardi. Amazingly, nothing came of the episode; both Shell and Lombardi continued in their positions.

Whatever authority Oakland's head coach might have had in the past now has evaporated. In disputes between players and coaches, Davis inevitably favors the players, particularly the most talented ones. The players know this, and they view their head coach as powerless. During the 2005 season, for example, then-coach Norv Turner benched quarterback Kerry Collins and replaced him with Marques Tuiasosopo, a 2001 second-round choice who has been a bust. Tuiasosopo played miserably in that start, but after the game Turner said Tuiasosopo would continue to be No. 1. Three days later, Turner said Collins had regained his starting role. The coach had been overruled by Davis.

This year, receiver Alvis Whitted, blessed with great speed but second-rate skills, remained a starter even though Ronald Curry, who had returned from a 2005 injury, was a better player. Davis favors receivers who can stretch the field, which Curry can't do. Whitted kept his starting position for 13 games, until he was injured. Curry, despite uneven playing time, caught a team-leading 62 passes, 35 more than Whitted.
"What's sad is that Al is hiring head coaches he knows can't be successful," says one team executive. Says another personnel man: "They haven't adjusted to today's times and today's football and today's players. They're still trying to strong-arm people with their tactics. They still try and go by the old Raider mentality, where they shouldn't flex as much as just make better decisions with a little better judgment." But there's more. "Until they solve the quarterback situation, they won't get any better," says ESPN analyst Joe Theismann. "And they have to change their offensive philosophy. I remember when Magic Johnson tried to coach the Lakers. He lasted just a few games, he couldn't talk to the new generation, it didn't work. That's what happened to Art. You need someone running the offense who is up-to-date."



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Since Super Bowl 37, the decline of the Raiders has been steady and stunning. Bill Callahan, who coached that squad after replacing Gruden, lasted one more year. Following a 4-12 season in which Callahan called his team the dumbest in America, Davis fired him and hired Turner, who had one playoff team in his seven years as Redskins coach.

At the end of his two-season tenure (9-23), Turner was haggard and jittery. The players had lost respect for him -- particularly Moss, who was obtained from the Vikings in 2005 to help restore the Raiders' vertical passing game. Moss wasn't happy, Collins deteriorated, and the Raiders finished 2005 with a six-game losing streak. Davis then turned to Shell, who vowed to restore the team's swagger and toughness. And his offense? "Run it and strike deep," he said. Back to the old Raider Way.

Instead, 2006 became the antithesis of everything Davis had created with the franchise. The defense finished an impressive third in the NFL. But on offense, it was horrid:


Shell clashed immediately with receiver Jerry Porter, who had 76 catches in 2005. Porter wanted to do his offseason training in Florida; Shell wanted him at the Oakland facility. Then Porter complained loudly about a lengthy October practice; Warren Sapp said he had heard "a lot worse." But Shell kicked out Porter and the Raiders suspended him for four games, a penalty cut in half after a compromise with the NFLPA. Yet, inexplicably, Oakland neither traded nor waived Porter. He was inactive most games and finished the season with just one reception.

The self-centered Moss was appointed offensive captain for the season, an awful decision. He became a barometer for all things wrong with the offense. On a radio show before the first game, he complained: "There's a lot of funny things going on in this organization. ... It's fishy around here, so actually we're walking on eggshells around here." In early October, he said: "I'm doing fine. I'm not even concerned with football right now. I'm just loving life." Asked if he was concerned about the team, he answered: "No, because it doesn't seem like nobody else is concerned, so why should I?" Asked about a trade, he said: "If it is good for this team for me to be traded, of course." In November, he attributed his numerous dropped passes to "a bad mood" affecting his concentration and focus, all stemming from his unhappiness with everything Raiders. He sat out the final three games with an ankle injury and finished with 42 catches.

Walsh was hired by Shell and Davis as offensive coordinator even though he had not been in the NFL since he was fired as part of Shell's 1994 staff. Walsh was running a bed and breakfast in Idaho when called back by the Raiders; the offense he installed was so basic and unimaginative that it became an embarrassment. Finally, before the 12th game, Shell demoted Walsh and handed over the offense to another assistant, John Shoop. Under Walsh, the Raiders averaged 12.0 points; under Shoop 7.2.

Davis dumped Collins after the 2005 season and brought in free agent Aaron Brooks, a former starter in New Orleans who was considered merely a quality backup by most of the league. Yet Davis liked Brooks' strong arm and hoped he could get the ball downfield to Moss and Porter. But Brooks, who struggled with injuries all season, instead demonstrated the same bad decision making and error-ridden play that had soured the Saints on him. He did not win a game as starter.
In December, he admitted wondering, "What have I gotten into?" The Raiders offense he had dreamed about? "I have my PlayStation for that," he said. The real Oakland offense? "I see a lack of motivation, enthusiasm, excitement and skill. Right now, we need a miracle to get something done offensively."


The Raiders traded receiver Doug Gabriel to the Patriots the week of the first game even though Porter was the one in Davis' doghouse. New England cut Gabriel in December. The Raiders claimed him off waivers.
Now the Raiders have the No. 1 pick in the draft. That last happened in 1962, pre-Davis, when they chose quarterback Roman Gabriel first in the AFL draft. But he never signed with them. The obvious choice this year would be a quarterback. But with so many needs, Oakland could opt to trade the selection for multiple choices and/or veteran players. Davis has drafted only three quarterbacks in the first round, and all three (Marc Wilson, Todd Marinovich and Eldridge Dickey) have been mediocre or worse. He seems better at finding retreads such as Jim Plunkett and Rich Gannon, who unexpectedly flourished as Raiders.

Davis' latest attempts to fix the offense have failed. His line, composed mostly of recent draft selections, is a mess; Jordan, a big-bucks free-agent running back, hasn't proved he is a top runner; Davis' best players, Moss and Porter, have created what teammate Jarrod Cooper called a circus; and none of the 16 offensive players taken in the past four drafts has become a star.

But Davis is entertaining no thoughts of stepping aside. "To the contrary," Trask says, "He is energized and eager to get started on the 2007 season." That may be the worst possible news for Raiders fans everywhere.

Senior writer Paul Attner covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at attner@sportingnews.com.

[poptart]

Yes, the same theme of bullshit was being trumpeted prior to Oakland's run of EXCELLENT football in the late 90's and early '00's.


I'm not about to get into a point-by-point counter to the horsehit printed there, but this is a typical example of the idiocy ......

"He used to be the best personnel guy in the league. Not anymore. Look at the Raiders' drafts.

Go ahead, look at the talent Oakland (Al Davis??) had drafted on defense the past few years.
It's pretty damn good.

[Shoalzie]

I still think the Lions are in worse shape than the Raiders...they don't even have any past glory to twell upon. They're in the middle of the worst stretch in NFL history under Millen. I know Davis and the Raiders are more high profile but the Lions and even the Cardinals have serious issues and have been bad for a long time. The Raiders are just in a down period...they were at least in a Super Bowl somewhat recently. I'd like to have that problem.

[Mile-Hi T]

31 years old and a head coach in the NFL???? Good for him. If it wasn't the raydahs job, I might pull for him.
All smack aside.. I think that we would ALL love that job at 31 yrs old. Al or no Al.

[Shawn Marion]

1. Oakland "hires" Sarkisian as HC
2. Sarkisian brings Kiffin with him as his OC
3. Sarkisian steps down as HC
4. Kiffin is promoted from OC to HC

Oakland is just cutting out the middle man, instead of firing Sarkisian after 1 season or sometime midseason. They are ahead of the game.

[poptart]

I can't offer up more than a 'wait-and-see' take on this hiring.

I'll say that I prefer this hire over a retread hiring.
I also favor it over a promotion of R. Ryan to head coach.


Potential positives
Outsider
Brings a fresh youthful burst of energy and enthusiasm
Outstanding offensive mind -- great success, college level
Comes from a great coaching tree
Excellence as a recruiter -- demonstrating a skill at 'selling' his position, getting folks to buy in
Ryan stays in place as D-coordinator

Potential negatives
Age -- younger than some of his players
Inexperience
Inexperience
Inexperience
5 yr contract -- Davis usually goes with just 3


Raider Nation is fucking starved for W's.
Been on the losing end of 22 of the past 24 games within the division (or something like that) .... etc ....
We ALL want to see results, but I think there's going to be a bit of a learning curve involved with Kiffen.
He's got to get brought up to NFL speed, so to speak.
Let's just hope he can find his stride and actually DO THE JOB!!!!!!

I'll embrace the kid coach ..... until he fucks something up badly.

[BSmack]

Potential negatives
Age -- younger than some of his players
Davis still makes all personnel decisions
Davis still makes all personnel decisions
Davis still makes all personnel decisions
Inexperience
5 yr contract -- Davis usually goes with just 3

FTFY

[Sirfindafold]

I enjoy sucking donkey dick.

fixed.

[trev]

[Mikey]

At least they have "class".
Oh, and no 'roiders either.

[Cicero]

He needs to shave that fucking goatee off.

[Goober McTuber]

"The players are going to play happy and they're going to play hard."

I believe they need to run angry.

[Felix]

Desperate move by Al, who by the way is in very, very, very poor health.

shall I assume you've somehow seen his medical records ... ?

you're kidding right?



I'll admit he looks as good as the other two........

[Raydah James]

KCK appearance in 3.................2.....................1....................

[Raydah James]

Desperate move by Al, who by the way is in very, very, very poor health.

shall I assume you've somehow seen his medical records ... ?

you're kidding right?



I'll admit he looks as good as the other two........

I'll take the same approach to this hire as I did with the Gruden one: Only time will tell if he is a good coach or not.

[poptart]

That's right, wait and see.

I'm hopeful, but I've got some concerns about the hire.

Look, with Kiffen's age and lack of NFL experience, it would be a stretch just have him elevated up to O-Coordinator in the NFL, and yet here we have him being raised up to NFL HEAD COACH. He has no head coaching experience at any level.

That's all a little scary.

I feel pretty damn good that a bright young offensive mind is now on the staff -- a promising compliment to Oakland's D-Coordinator, but ..... wouldn't we all feel better if the kid was just O-Coordinator, and not actually guiding the entire ship ... ?

Does the youngster actually have the 'juice' to LEAD a group of NFL men .... ?

Some of us remember what happened when Al elevated bright offensive minded Mike Shanahan up to Head Coach.
He wasn't ready for it.

I fear the same result with Kiffen.

Yes, bottom line is we'll have to wait and see.




GO Raiders!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mal]

I like the hire.

But really, can he be any worse than Art Shell?

Just bring the offense into this century is a huge step right there. Maybe now we won't be expecting a shit line to hold blocks 3 times longer than any other group in the NFL.

I like how he handled the press conference. Love the crack about calling Gruden to be the OC...

In short I'm impressed.

Give the kid a shot.

Yesterday was the first step of the upswing for this franchise.

Incidently unwar being older than the coach of my team.

[BSmack]

Will Kiff be retaining Tom Walsh's services?

They don't need Walsh. I'm sure there's a Dairy Queen manager out there that could run the Raiders offense just as well as a bed and breakfast man.

[Sirfindafold]

Will Kiff be retaining Tom Walsh's services?

They don't need Walsh. I'm sure there's a Dairy Queen manager out there that could run the Raiders offense just as well as a bed and breakfast man.

Hell, they could have retained the whole coaching staff and not touched the roster and would have been at worst 12-4 next year. Of course they would have to petition the NFL to let them play the steelers 12 times.

[BSmack]

Will Kiff be retaining Tom Walsh's services?

They don't need Walsh. I'm sure there's a Dairy Queen manager out there that could run the Raiders offense just as well as a bed and breakfast man.

Hell, they could have retained the whole coaching staff and not touched the roster and would have been at worst 12-4 next year. Of course they would have to petition the NFL to let them play the steelers 12 times.

They would be better off playing the Cardinals 12 times.

BTW: Meet your teams next Offensive Coordinator.

[flash width=350 height=350]http://community.middlebury.edu/~bpyfrom/burgerking.swf[/flash]

[ChargerMike]

^^^^^^^^^OMG...RRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAACK

[DallasFanatic]

Rack Bri. That is funny as shit.

[The Assassin]

Rack Bri. That is funny as shit.

yup sure was.


signed,

2002

[BSmack]

Rack Bri. That is funny as shit.

yup sure was.

signed,

2002

The Raiders were targeting the food and hospitality industry for coaches back in 2002?

[The Assassin]

Rack Bri. That is funny as shit.

yup sure was.

signed,

2002

The Raiders were targeting the food and hospitality industry for coaches back in 2002?

Yep,thats where they found Rob Ryan.

[Mister Bushice]

I feel pretty damn good that a bright young offensive mind is now on the staff -- a promising compliment to Oakland's D-Coordinator, but ..... wouldn't we all feel better if the kid was just O-Coordinator, and not actually guiding the entire ship ... ?

You don't actually think he's getting anywhere near the captains deck, do you?

You can't possibly think this hire isn't anything other than a very easy to control coach?

Gruden was young when he was hired - but he'd had seven years of NFL experience and an independent attitude to go along with that by then, and we all know how that worked out.

No one with any sense was going anywhere near this job. Al hired someone he could have total control over somewhat out of necessity, but also it just fits with his mentality. Hell, none of the coaches with a pedigree have worked out too well lately.

Anyone know how many teams in the history of the NFL have hired head coaches with both no NFL AND no HC experience?

[poptart]

Anyone know how many teams in the history of the NFL have hired head coaches with both no NFL AND no HC experience?

Kiffin worked for one yr as an assistant for the NFL J'ville Faguars.
But, of course, your line of questioning is valid, Bushice.
It's reasonable to wonder whether his age and lack of experience will be a problem.
I'd feel better if he were named O-Coordinator and not Head Coach.
Then again, I might feel GREAT when he turns out to be an excellent Head Coach.

Nobody knows how he's going to do.

Jon Gruden said, regarding Lane Kiffin's age, "There's no drawback. Whether you're 32 or 62, who cares? You got to go in there and earn the respect of your team and prove you're capable of getting it done."

[Terry in Crapchester]

I'm inclined to take a wait-and-see approach on this hiring. That said, the USC people on the college football board aren't exactly sad to see Kiffin go, and it stands to reason that they know him better than anyone else here.

[Sirfindafold]

BTW: Meet your teams next Offensive Coordinator.

Certainly an upgrade over last year's edition. Speaking of which, the steelers might want to look him up. You'd hate to see another AFC Central team pick him up. That would guarantee two ass-kickings like the one the Raiders laid on the stillers last year.

[DallasFanatic]

Kiffin worked for one yr as an assistant for the NFL J'ville Faguars.

Is that what they call ball boys now?

[BSmack]

BTW: Meet your teams next Offensive Coordinator.

Certainly an upgrade over last year's edition. Speaking of which, the steelers might want to look him up. You'd hate to see another AFC Central team pick him up. That would guarantee two ass-kickings like the one the Raiders laid on the stillers last year.

The Raiders offense didn't have a damn thing to do with winning that game.