Breaking: Hanson will talk to police

An attorney representing injured Oakland Raiders assistant coach Randy Hanson will turn over medical records at the request of the Napa, Calif., police on Friday that show Hanson’s jaw is broken, multiple sources told the National Football Post.

San Francisco attorney John McGuinn has been hired to represent Hanson, and police have been attempting to gain information from Hanson in recent days. Lt. Brian McGovern said earlier this week that if Hanson’s jaw is broken, it could lead to felony charges in the alleged assault that took place at the Raiders’ training camp facility. The source said Hanson suffered a fracture in his upper jaw and that he had to seek additional emergency room treatment Wednesday night near his home in Livermore, Calif., for lower jaw pain two weeks after the incident.

Cable has declined to comment on the matter, telling reporters it was an internal issue. However, NFL Security is investigating, and now law enforcement is expected to receive cooperation from Hanson and McGuinn, which will likely lead to an investigation three weeks before the beginning of the regular season. Police took a report about the incident on Aug. 6 at a hospital in Napa when Hanson was receiving X-rays. Any violation of the NFL’s personal conduct policy could lead to punishment from Commissioner Roger Goodell.

APRandy Hanson

The alleged assault took place Aug. 5 after Cable informed Hanson he would no longer be involved with coaching defensive backs on the field and would be relegated to film work, the source said. Cable had been working to reduce Hanson’s role for months, the source said. Cable said that Hanson had been confusing the Raiders’ defensive backs, and Cable held a closed-door meeting with the cornerbacks and safeties and just himself. That led to a meeting between Cable and Hanson in Hanson’s room, and later a meeting with coaches after Cable had instructed Hanson not to come to practice.

In the meeting among coaches that included Cable, defensive coordinator John Marshall, defensive backs coach Lionel Washington and assistant defensive backs coach Willie Brown, Cable allegedly came at Hanson from behind as he was verbally contesting what Marshall had said.

According to the source, Cable knocked Hanson out of his chair and up against the wall and into a cabinet. Cable and Hanson fell to the floor, where Hanson was choked, the source said, and Cable was pulled off Hanson by the other men before Cable went after Hanson again.

“Cable said, ‘I am going to kill you, I am going to kill you,’ as he was choking him,’’ according to the source, who also said furniture in the room was damaged.

Later, Cable informed Hanson that his role on the team would be changed to breaking down film and he would no longer be a coach on the field and would not travel with the team. Hanson was hired by owner Al Davis, and he left camp until he could reach Davis, who was attending to business in New York related to his ongoing dispute with fired coach Lane Kiffin. It was Hanson who was at the middle of the Davis-Kiffin war last year.

APRaiders head coach Tom Cable

According to the source, Cable has worked to minimize Hanson’s position since Davis removed the “interim” from Cable’s title and made him coach Feb. 3. Hanson was demoted from the assistant defensive backs position he held for two years to defensive assistant. He was denied permission to attend the Combine and has not been invited to functions involving the entire coaching staff, the source said.

Hanson met with Davis on Saturday at the club’s headquarters for an hour. Davis told him he could not undermine Cable and allow Hanson to return to his position as a coach, the source said. Davis offered him three alternatives: join the team’s pro personnel department, handle the film tasks Cable had already laid out for him or have Davis honor the remainder of Hanson’s contract and he would not have to work. Hanson told Davis he did not like any of the options. Davis called Hanson on Sunday, and Hanson reiterated he was not interested in any of the three possibilities, and Hanson hung up the phone on Davis, the source said.

The source said that Hanson did not cooperate with law enforcement from the start because it was his hope the matter would be resolved and he could return to his role as a coach. The source said Hanson’s lifelong goal was to work for the Raiders, leading him to leave a position he held in St. Louis for Oakland. Now that Davis and Cable have made it clear that will not happen, Hanson has decided to follow the request of police and aid in their investigation. A civil suit is a probability, a source said.

Hanson has worked previously in St. Louis and Minnesota. Vikings coach Brad Childress attempted to retain Hanson when he was hired. In fact, Hanson was the only coach from Mike Tice’s staff whom Childress offered a position to. Hanson has been described as a tireless worker by coaches who have been on staffs with him. He had to be treated for exhaustion while in St. Louis.

“Randy is a real intelligent guy and he’s one of those guys that works 20 hours a day,” one coach said. “He doesn’t sleep. People keep him because he’s a frickin’ worker. He’s a pretty smart guy. But he loses it at times. He just doesn’t know when to shut up.”

Hanson is going to talk now, and he’s going to talk to police.

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