Al Davis set to fire Lane Kiffin very soon it would appear
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The job of Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin has come under fire again from the one person that matters, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
In late January, ESPN Senior NFL Analyst Chris Mortensen reported that Raiders owner Al Davis had drawn up a resignation letter for Kiffin a week into the year and asked the coach to quit.
Now, Davis is preparing to fire Kiffin as soon as Monday, regardless of how the visiting Raiders perform Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Mercury News has reported, citing several front-office sources.
"You have to look at the history. History is what it is, that he doesn't keep people very long," Kiffin said Wednesday of Davis, two days after the Raiders lost their season opener 41-14 to the Denver Broncos in Oakland.
"He's not the guy I hired," Davis said in mid-August, according to the report in the Bay Area newspaper.
Speculation about Kiffin's status began in early January after reports surfaced following the season that he wanted to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. The Raiders dismissed those reports and announced that Ryan was staying on as coordinator.
Kiffin was reportedly upset that he didn't have control of his coaching staff, leading Davis to ask for his resignation. If Kiffin were to resign, he would not be paid for the remaining two years of his contract.
"We don't have a general manager; everything goes through the owner," Kiffin said Wednesday. "That sets up a difficult situation at times. Knowing who the owner is, you know from Day 1 there's no job security."
Kiffin, 33, became the youngest man to coach a game in the NFL since Harland Svare took over the Los Angeles Rams as a 31-year old in 1962.
The Raiders went 4-12 in his first season in Oakland, doubling the team's win total from the previous year and showing signs of improvement in many areas.
But it marked the fifth straight year that Oakland has lost at least 10 games.
In late January, ESPN Senior NFL Analyst Chris Mortensen reported that Raiders owner Al Davis had drawn up a resignation letter for Kiffin a week into the year and asked the coach to quit.
Now, Davis is preparing to fire Kiffin as soon as Monday, regardless of how the visiting Raiders perform Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs, the Mercury News has reported, citing several front-office sources.
"You have to look at the history. History is what it is, that he doesn't keep people very long," Kiffin said Wednesday of Davis, two days after the Raiders lost their season opener 41-14 to the Denver Broncos in Oakland.
"He's not the guy I hired," Davis said in mid-August, according to the report in the Bay Area newspaper.
Speculation about Kiffin's status began in early January after reports surfaced following the season that he wanted to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. The Raiders dismissed those reports and announced that Ryan was staying on as coordinator.
Kiffin was reportedly upset that he didn't have control of his coaching staff, leading Davis to ask for his resignation. If Kiffin were to resign, he would not be paid for the remaining two years of his contract.
"We don't have a general manager; everything goes through the owner," Kiffin said Wednesday. "That sets up a difficult situation at times. Knowing who the owner is, you know from Day 1 there's no job security."
Kiffin, 33, became the youngest man to coach a game in the NFL since Harland Svare took over the Los Angeles Rams as a 31-year old in 1962.
The Raiders went 4-12 in his first season in Oakland, doubling the team's win total from the previous year and showing signs of improvement in many areas.
But it marked the fifth straight year that Oakland has lost at least 10 games.
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As a kid growing up in Denver in the 1960's and early 1970's I remember the Raiders just kicking the stuffing out of the Broncos year after year. Even though the Broncos were a laughing stock back then they were my hometown team. Thus I never liked the Raiders.
To this day any bad luck that visits the Raiders just brings warmth to my heart. Petty,............. no doubt, but such is the reality for this Bronco fan.
Funny how the KC Chiefs used to treat the Broncos just as badly, yet I don't feel the same way about the Chiefs as I do the Raiders. Chiefs fans feel the same way about the Raiders. So also Charger fans. Must just be the Raider's wild, bad boy image that causes it (though Al Davis at 79 years of age does not present a wild bad boy image, just an image of an old man who can't let go and is thus causing ruin to the most important thing inhis life).
Speaking of the Raiders, they signed a 16 year lease to play in Oakland starting in the 1995 season. The lease runs out at the conclusion of the 2010 season. If Al Davis is still alive and in control of the team in 2010, I wonder if he will remain in Oakland or try to move his team back to LA or some other location. Even if he keeps the team in Oakland, I suspect that any agreement to keep the team in Oakland will be like the one that brought the team back to Oakland in 1995, namely one that the Oakland and Alameda County politicians will mess up to the financial detriment of the taxpayers of the fair city of Oakland and of Alameda County.