If the 31 other teams of the NFL take turns playing the main stage of Lollapalooza, then it seems the Raiders are always the Jim Rose Circus Side Show.  Speculation is mounting about Lane Kiffin and the status of his employment.  His statements like “If I’m here or not” after the KC victory and more loaded and passive-aggressive lines like “I can only control what I can control” aren’t entirely innocuous.  They’re even a little self-serving.

And like other football issues of past, it can feel like the media is quick to hype this.  But I’m probably overly sensitive since it was usually my team they were talking about. The up-and-down unpredictability of the Raiders makes for sports columns that practically write themselves.  But what are often overlooked are the young players on the team.  Since the 2003 season, they’ve only won 20 games.  They’ve lost 62.  Some of these guys haven’t had a whiff of what it feels to win more than 2 in a row, and events like playoffs and AFC Championships are things that happen to other teams, not to them.  But worse than this is the revolving door of coaches who bring with them new philosophies, different expectations, unfamiliar plays and divergent styles. The kids don’t stand a chance.

I remember how I felt when I was told Jon Gruden was going to Tampa Bay.  Like someone had cut blocked me, pinned me down and farted in my face.  But worse than that, I felt conned by a coach who probably had plans to leave well before we made the playoffs.  Prior to his exit, we had put together a successful run during the 2001 season. I was happy because I was the starter for 14 games due to Barrett Robbins’ knee injury in week 2.  We were healthy, we were cohesive and we had the confidence to win the Super Bowl.  Then the snow and Tom Brady’s shiny white teeth and the infamous Tuck Rule derailed us only one game to go.  Gruden approached me in the locker room after the game and thanked me for the effort I had given him all season.  He agreed when I expressed my excitement and optimism for next season as we had the core guys and the motivation of redemption to guide us.  Cut to the team’s final exit meeting and no Gruden.  There might have been a nice sound bite or two thanking him and wishing him well. We didn’t mean it.  He left and we’d have to start all over again.

So like Gruden, Kiffin is likely looking out for #1.  The Raiders is merely a pit stop.  Complain and rant, pontificate and sound off about the owner and how he is driving this franchise into the ground.  He might be.  But also ask why Kiffin sees it necessary to feed the media such cryptic lines.  Is he thinking of himself or is he thinking of the players?  It’s no secret the Raiders have a certain (some say dysfunctional) way of doing things.  But in the meantime, energy spent learning calls and perfecting routes is instead spent wondering exactly when their coach is going to split.