Former Raiders Speak Out

Greg Garber reported on ESPN.com that under Raiders' owner Al Davis, they have five straight seasons of 11 or more losses. They are 1-3 heading into their Week 6 game at New Orleans. Wow, must have been all those coaches, right?

I loved this article and wanted to share some key points I found that seals my dislike for Al Davis. It really says a lot when past players come forth and speak out about Davis, now that he doesn't have his crusty hands on their careers. Like Darth Vader in Star Wars, Davis is out for one thing, total control no matter the cost.



Star receiver Tim Brown (former Raider 1988-2003) said that he blames for the team's demise largely on Al Davis. Brown commented that The Raiders' organization was a family unit. He even said, "That meant whatever happened outside that building stayed outside that building. Whatever happened inside stayed inside. I would have liked for [Davis] not to have gotten into the personal things that happened between them. That family bonding thing, that can't be there if you have different coaches coming in week after week after week it seems like. That was the great thing about Gruden when he came in. He established a program. We knew he was making some calls and doing some things that he wanted to do, and guys responded. Until they get back to that, it's going to be very difficult to be consistent on the field, winning games."


Former Raider Super Bowl Quarterback Rich Gannon stated, "It's not a tough place to work, it's an impossible place to work, It's an organization that is, in my opinion, dysfunctional."

Heck yeah it's dysfunctional, there's a control freak at the helm!








Warren Sapp (former Raider 2004-2007) said, "You take him (Al Davis) out, put him at home watching film or whatever he is doing, you have a functioning football organization. Al Davis knows football, it's just '60s and '70s football. That's what he is.

I agree with Warren, he's stuck in an era were football wasn't as complicated and it was possible to have the control he does and succeed. Football should be run like a business and there is a track record of organizations that do it this way and have tremendous success.




Everyone cheered when Detroit Lions President, Matt Millen (former Raiders linebacker), was fired after Detroit went 26-57 over the last five-plus seasons. Get rid of the problem, easy fix right? Oakland is 20-64 which is worse since reaching Super Bowl XXXVII, which includes 5-28 in the AFC West. Sounds horrible and needs to be fixed like Detroit, right? Well Al Davis is team owner AND team general manager AND cannot be fired. Anyone see a problem here?

In recent press release about his recent firing of Lane Kiffin, Al Davis said, "It didn't have to do with winning, it had to do with personality. It's the first time I ever let anyone go based on what I call [being] a flat-out liar. It didn't have to do with winning."

Maybe not winning but, definitely, it had everything to do with Al Davis. Davis continued by saying in a recent dramatic news conference, "We'll be back. The Raiders will be back. I just know that the fire that burns brightest in this building is the will to win, and we will win. We will win."

Hey Al, I thought you said, "It didn't have to do with winning"? So which is it? Speaking of winning, since reaching Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003, the Oakland Raiders have won only 20 of 84 games which is the worst record in the NFL over that period. Obviously there is one possible reason for this type of record, the revolving coaching door since they've had five different head coaches in less than 5½ seasons.

Here's the numbers on recent Raiders coaching records:

Bill Callahan ('03) went 4-12
Norv Turner ('04-05) went 9-23
Art Shell ('06) went 2-14
Lane Kiffin ('07-08) went 5-15
and now interim head coach Tom Cable ('08) so far 0-0, the best record to date!

I see a pattern developing here!