The group ranked so far includes four main subgroups: owners who seemingly have the pieces in place to break through to the top level; then a group that hasn’t done enough to be properly judged but has shown some promise; then a cohort that has owned its teams for a while without a great deal to show during that time. Robert Boland
Last Week
As a reminder, we began ranking NFL franchises and owners two weeks ago. For dramatic purposes -- leading to what they call on the TV home makeover shows “the big reveal” of the top and bottom teams -- we started looking at the middle tier of NFL owners and organizations. That gives us a chance to unveil both the truly bad and truly good this week.
The group ranked so far includes four main subgroups: owners who seemingly have the pieces in place to break through to the top level; then a group that hasn’t done enough to be properly judged but has shown some promise; then a cohort that has owned its teams for a while without a great deal to show during that time. Finally, we examined a group of five owners who, while far from being bad owners, have teams that are in some peril or in periods of transition that aren’t going smoothly. The rankings to date:
9. Indianapolis Colts: Jim Irsay
10. Tampa Bay: Malcolm Glazer & Son
11. Kansas City Chiefs: Clark Hunt
12. Minnesota Vikings: Zygmunt Wilf
13. Seattle Seahawks: Paul Allen
14. Tennessee Titans: Bud Adams
15. Houston Texans: Bob McNair
16. New York Jets: Woody Johnson
17. San Diego Chargers: Alex Spanos & Dean Spanos
18. Carolina Panthers: Jerry Richardson
19. Jacksonville Jaguars: Wayne Weaver
20. Buffalo Bills: Ralph Wilson
21. St. Louis Rams: Chip Rosenbloom
22. Chicago Bears: Virginia McCaskey & Michael McCaskey
Incomplete -- Miami Dolphins: Steve Ross
Click HERE to read Part 1
Click HERE to read Part 2
Race to the Bottom
Today, we look at the worst of the bunch and recognize that this is where the most heated competition is taking place. More teams seem focused on the race for the bottom than the battle to the top. Hopefully, this fact alone makes our point, that owning a team isn’t easy and requires the constant engagement of an owner, business, legal and public relations talent and a directed football operation that doesn’t haphazardly change course. The business of running a billion-dollar football operation in essence requires a captain with a steady enough hand on the wheel to sail straight. It isn’t easy, and it takes both patience and experience to manage such a diversified business.
What are the Hallmarks of an Enlightened Owner
Several years ago, I wrote an article detailing 10 principles an enlightened sports team owner should live by and operate under, realizing that this list would be surpassed only by Mel Brooks’ “15 great commandments” in “The History of the World Part I.” As we look at the bottom tier of owners, it’s easy to see how they have individually and collectively failed to meet most, if any, of these benchmarks.
1. The Enlightened Owner connects with the past, present and future of the Franchise.
2. The Enlightened Owner understands the economics of the sport.
3. The Enlightened Owner can play “Moneyball.”
Every time an owner pays more than the league average for a player at a given position,he is entering subjective territory and must tread carefully, because he must get better than average performance in return.
Moneyball -- knowledgeable managers know how not to bid against themselves by avoiding or knowing how to manage the auction markets of free agency and signing players when the team has the most leverage.
4. The Enlightened Owner knows how to work with government.
5. The Enlightened Owner increases both loyalty and revenue streams.
6. The Enlightened Owner rewards fans.
Developing new stadia pricing models that charge a location premium to corporations and deep-pocketed celebrities who demand attention-getting, broadcast friendly seat locations but allow owners to actually lower ticket prices for the majority of loyal fans not craving courtside or premium seats.
7. The Enlightened Owner hires leadership for the long term.
The necessity of being or hiring an “asset manager” -- an executive who doesn't covet coaching or GM duties but who can step between the business and sports side of the franchise to maintain continuity so that every small change doesn't require the organization to be blown up and reconfigured, which in a salary-capped sport might take more than a decade to recover from.
8. The Enlightened Owner values the human asset.
9. The Enlightened Owner is aware of the media, old and new.
That’s more than reading the paper and reacting to it. It is really understanding public relations and the media and how each works.
10. The Enlightened Owner knows the business of sport.
Broadway promoter, Jets owner and the man who brought “Broadway Joe” Namath to the Jets, Sonny Werblin’s admonition was to know “your business.” An enlightened owner must know where the business of sport is headed and how it’s going to get there.
The List
This list includes a couple of owners who may have the ability to escape the bottom tier if only they can improve a certain characteristic or weakness and some that have just plain bottomed out due to a lack of engagement or adaptability. Interestingly enough, having a modern, revenue-producing stadium is not a cure-all for bad management, as more than half the owners and organizations on his list have a new, highly favorable stadium.
Atlanta Falcons: Arthur Blank #23
Sometimes, bad things happen to good people. Arthur Blank, one of the founders of Home Depot, seems on many levels to be a decent, likeable sort of guy. You want to root for him, but much of what has happened to him and the Falcons could have been averted. Whether Blank believed the wrong people in building his franchise, ignored well-documented evidence on Michael Vick’s off-field activities or incorrectly took Bobby Petrino at his word, his tenure with the Falcons has been marked by a series of missteps severe enough to make even fans wonder. Clearly, Blank hasn’t asked the right questions of the right people at the right time and has been publicly played too often. The test for Blank and his organization will be whether they can sustain the positive momentum developed last season.
Washington Redskins: Daniel Snyder #24
Clearly nobody makes money in the NFL like Daniel Snyder. And no one spends it like Snyder, either. In fact, money is the root of the problem with Snyder and the Redskins. But for all his success with the business aspects of the franchise, Snyder has never used any solution other than money to solve problems facing the team.
He proves that there are problems that cannot be solved by money alone and there are those that genuinely require brain power, human capital and strategic thinking. He doesn’t so much entrust his coaching staffs as he off-loads responsibility on them, and he had done so now to Marty Schottenheimer, Norv Turner, Steve Spurrier, Joe Gibbs and Jim Zorn with only two playoff wins to show for it.
New Orleans Saints: Tom Benson #25
Benson is best known for dancing on the sidelines beneath a parasol and for ending the Saints’ long playoff drought. He deserves credit for getting the Saints back up and running in the Crescent City after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. The franchise has been a rallying point for fans and the city. However, Benson hasn’t done much else that is significant. The fact his current team is unbalanced in favor of a superb passing game and struggles on defense is indicative of the overall state of the Saints under Benson.
Cleveland Browns: Randy Lerner #26
The Browns have a gorgeous stadium, a great history and a fiercely loyal following. But in their fairly short re-existence, they’ve had the Carmen Policy-Dwight Clark era, the Butch Davis era, the Phil Savage-Romeo Crennel era and now the Eric Mangini era. That’s four rebuilds in just a decade since Randy Lerner’s late father Al heroically brought football back to the shores of Lake Erie.
That is just too much instability; even bad managers may deserve more time. At the same time, Cleveland has become a halfway house for every hotshot sports executive available. Lerner had become a victim of too many chefs stirring the soup, and the failed courtship of Scott Pioli this offseason is indicative of the organizational problems the Browns face. Now Lerner has cleared the kitchen and put Mangini in charge, which begs the question, why? Even Bill Belichick, after failing in Cleveland, went back for a stint in the Parcells finishing school to stew over what went wrong before taking over in New England.
San Francisco 49ers: Denise DeBartolo York & John York #27
When Eddie DeBartolo Jr. and Bill Walsh ran this franchise, it was one of the better run organizations in any sport -- in the history of sports. Then Eddie lost the team due to a criminal conviction and his sister Denise DeBartolo York and her husband John York stepped in as caretakers. The problem is that that was nine years ago and the Yorks have operated the franchise as caretakers ever since.
The NFL has a major problem in not one but two major California markets. There’s no team in Los Angeles, and there are two teams in the Bay Area making less money than one team should. The 49ers are the worst offenders, with Forbes reporting only $4 million in operating income last year. Author Gene Fowler wrote, “Every man should be allowed to love two cities -- his own and San Francisco.” The problem is that this franchise needs so much more than just love. It needs a stadium, a direction and leadership. The team has some solid executives on staff and maybe a diamond in the rough in coach Mike Singletary, but the void of ownership leadership has been debilitating.
Arizona Cardinals: William Bidwill & Michael Bidwill #28
For nearly half a century, the Bidwills have had a reserved space at the bottom ranks of NFL owners. Only some of the worst days of Bob Irsay’s tenure with the Colts really compare to the Cardinals’ normal days. But lo and behold, the Cards now have stable management with GM Rod Graves; a superbly talented coach in Ken Whisenhunt, who got just lucky enough to make the Super Bowl ahead of schedule; and a new stadium – so it’s impossible to rank the Bidwills at the bottom of this list. The increased presence of Michael Bidwill seems to be a factor. Still, the Cardinals have historically been too cheap, only to have to overpay later when their cheapness caught up with them. But there’s reason to hope for more.
Detroit Lions: William Clay Ford Sr. #29
After an 0-16 season, this organization is still not giving new head coach Jim Schwartz room to operate in rebuilding. While newly promoted club president Tom Lewand and GM Martin Mayhew are young and smart, neither has held his job previously or has a mentor to call on, and Schwartz is still saddled with a dysfunctional team scouting and talent evaluation structure that predates even Matt Millen’s run. The new stadium the Fords built doesn’t rescue a legacy of being too resistant to change for too long. Ford, who is in his 80s, has given his son, William Clay Ford Jr., a much greater role in running the team, but with a purchase price of about $4 million in 1963 and the plunging fortunes of Ford stock, one wonders if this is a team that may also be caught in the inheritance tax vise.
Oakland Raiders: Al Davis #30
Al Davis has become a tragic figure, sort of an NFL version of Shakespeare’s King Lear, valuing false declarations of loyalty more than competence. Like the tragic Lear, the end will not be -- and so far hasn’t been -- pretty for Davis or the Raiders. A man who probably has done as much to shape the modern game and sport of football as anyone deserves better. As someone who loves language, I give Davis special credit for framing much of the verbal mythology surrounding professional football as well as being an innovator in talent evaluation, scouting, the passing game, integration and team management. Sadly, while honoring the past, Davis desires to live in it, and for all his past excellence, time has passed him by and his franchise lags on the field and off.
Cincinnati Bengals: Mike Brown #31
Ironically, one of the few figures in the history of the game who may surpass Davis as an innovator and thinker is the late Paul Brown. Brown reintegrated the sport, pioneered the passing game and brought organizational and managerial theory to what had previously only been a game. He founded the Bengals and had a run of success with the upstart AFL expansion team.
However, the Bengals -- a family business headed by Brown’s now seventy-something, Dartmouth-educated son Mike -- have lost sight of the ball, and the team has been beset by the worst elements associated with any kind of family business. The worst of these is an inability to adapt or change quickly. For example, the Bengals didn’t have a scouting staff for years, relying on coaches to handle that function despite the magnitude of that endeavor. For pure prurient interest, the Bengals have led the league in arrests, rather than wins, year in and year out. Cincinnati is the last place any free agent or draft pick wants to play and that earns them the bottom spot on our list.
This is a great series...Why is there not a #32?
There is no #32 because Steve Ross hasn't owned the Dolphins long enough to be fairly rated. He gets an incomplete.
I still say Davis's big picture contributions merit a much higher ranking. He branded his team, it's as if Steinbrenner invented the Yankee pinstripes. And furthermore, the only thing fans care about is wins and losses. A guy like Snyder has won what, one playoff game (if that) in his entire tenure at Washington? Do you think the fans would trade his stadium maneuverings and free agent spending sprees for a contender now and then? Hell, even Davis's Raiders have contended this decade which is more than a lot of these owners can say...
In light of John Madden's retirement and the reminder of his dominant run as a coach in the NFL, let's not forget who gave him that opportunity. Al Davis has certainly lost some of his touch, but he has had a tremendous impact on the NFL. He doesn't always sign the right players, BUT he's always trying to improve, something the Bidwells and Mike Brown never cared about.
Blank illustrates the perils of falling in love with one of your athletes.
AD...30th??? dude, gtfoh
i bet the cheatin ass Bowlens and Krafts are two and three on our list.
Many factual errors in this article. Also pretty embarrassing that this so-called expert on NFL ownership doesn't even know how to spell the name of the family who's owned the Cardinals since 1932.
"The enlightened blogger learns to proofread."
Another snipe at Al Davis. The history of AD is poorly understood, his contributions to the league and the sport are numerous. The piling on over the bad stretch his team is on is getting old. We will see if he can win again. he just should not be at the bottom of a list like this, i could understand somebody wanting to downgrade him because of recent history but the dude has 3 rings, HOF, and all of the history of pushing the sport with renegade Raider schemes.
BIG HANDLE: Please state at least some examples of so-called "many factual errors."
You are correct about the spelling of the Bidwill family, however, a simple spelling error does not render this article uncredible.
Did the NFL ban Eddie DeBartolo Jr. for life or can he return???
Another great one Robert.
Stu: He acknowledges Al's accomplishments. However, this is a review of the owners as they currently are, and Al hasn't done anything for the league or the Raiders in the last 15-20 years.
He was great and instrumental for 25-30 years, and he gets credit for that, but as it currently stands, he's been a poor owner.
Shannon thanks for coming to my defense and yes I spelled Bidwill incorrectly and do I owe the readers who have been incredibly supportive of this series better and I thank Big Handle for pointing it out. I will for full disclosure admit I have in the past spelled Glazer and Belichick incorrectly including the last one three different ways in two paragraphs. Thanks to everyone who has read this series and commented.
Actually it might have been Journey who came to my defense in either case thank you all for reading and giving this subject your thought. Eddie DeBartolo, Jr. signed the 49ers over to the Yorks even though his ban was for one year.
JT,
In the last 15 years Al's team has won their division 3 times, been to two championship games and a Super Bowl. Yes they've had some bad years lately but that still dwarves the accomplishments of many of the owners ranked above him on this list.
He has also had a key role in hammering out collective bargaining agreements and promoted fair hiring practices by, among other things, making a woman the team's chief executive. The type of things other owners do because they've been forced to by league rules. Rules that aren't necessary for Al because he's been ahead of the curve.
The comment that he "hasn't done anything for the league or the Raiders" in 15 years is flat out false.
Let me put it this way: if Al "hasn't done anything for the league or the Raiders in the last 15 years", please list the illustrious contributions of the owners ranked at #'s 23-29 for starters, I'm all ears.
Brown and Davis were integral people to helping Bill Walsh become a standard setter in every facet of football management and coaching.
That's the saddest thing about this because they helped build the greatest legacy of this era! Almost sad as Bill leaving before seeing those names become associated with a championship in this decade again.
In the last six season, the Raiders have gone 24-72. This once proud franchise has been run into the ground and the prospects for the future don't seem all that bright.
I would add something to Robert's criteria - Enlightened Ownership hires good people and lets them do their jobs. The presence of Al Davis is now an impediment to hiring qualified people to run the Raiders.
This isn't an article on the owners and their contributions throughout their tenure. This is a ranking as they currently stand. Their are many companies that have gave us great contributions like Xerox, but are no longer considered the best in the business.
I've enjoyed this series much as it has enlightened my view of a different aspect of the NFL. I would have had difficulty ranking owners without being influenced by recent won-loss records which I believe you have accomplished well.
Now I'm looking forward to your top tier owners. In my mind there is no question that the top rated org is not owned by a single owner but by thousands of owners.
Face it. There is no better org than GB. I look forward to you declaring this as truth. -Go Pack !!!
Very nice and informative series. Hopefully it won't get too ugly around here with people cursing you for putting Jerry Jones in the top tier.
I still can see Arthur blank pushing Michael Vick with his broken leg in that wheelchair.
Steve,
Except for Jon Gruden's run, nothing has been that remarkable. With Art Shell they managed to win 2 playoff games in 5 years, and with the exception of Callahan's piggy-backing of Gruden's team, the Raiders haven't made the playoffs without someone named Shell or Gruden at the helm in the last 20 years.
Bugle, White, Callahan, Turner, Kiffin, and Shell (#2) were all bad hires, all of those decisions were made by Al Davis.
The best player Al drafted in the 1st round in the 90s was Anthony Smith or Charles Woodson, and the 2000s have been nothing but a long string of 1st round disappointments (except for Asomugha).
Al did a lot for the league, the AFL, football, and the Raiders. But he's done nothing but make Oakland mediocre the last 20 years. Compare the last 20 to the first 20, and it's not even close. Al gets a failing grade for where the Raiders franchise is right now, not how it stacks up in the grand scheme of things.
Murder -
Excellent observation on Davis and Brown...
WoodyG-
No argument from me that the Pack is #1
b roo -
you might want to cover your ears (or your monitor in this case) when the top eight come out, I think it's going to be ugly. But if you look at the ten "Hallmarks of an Enlightened Owner" JJ is doing a pretty good job...I can't believe I just wrote that....
B Roo - you're correct to be preparing for JJ's ranking. He's a tough one to rank and I'd have to disagree with placing him amongst the top but he isn't BAD either. Moneyball and long-term leadership are his key faults, he's absolutely horrible on those two but he's clearly amongst the best in many other key areas, especially the economics, the revenue streams, the franchise history, the media and government aspects.
Of the owners listed thus far, only Irsay and Glazer can really make an argument to be ranked higher than JJ, but even there it'd be pretty iffy. Personally, I consider his total ineptitude at Moneyball and leadership to be sufficient to knock him out of the top ten, but that's just me. Yeah, he's the master of the football dollar but how many times does he have to blow up the leadership of the organization before people realize he's a brilliant businessman but a completely incompetent manager?
So what are the odds on Kraft getting the #1 seed? It probably comes down to him vs. GB. I'll put Kraft at 2-3 and GB at even. Boland comes into his own when odds are taken based on his opinion rankings...
I have to strongly disagree with the assessment of Mr Davis at #30 here as well -
One must consider just 6-7 years ago, Oakland had a veteran team in a Super Bowl - Veterans that had to be replaced - Let's break down that roster for a minute - Gannon 37, Rice 40, Brown 36, Garner 30, (Rod) Woodson 37, Romanowski 36, Armstrong 37 etc -
That is quite the core group of players to replace -
Can Mr Davis be blamed for the lull in between the years from 2003-2008? Sure, but we are only talking about a 5 year down time period here to this point - Anything beyond is pure speculation -
The Raiders have arguably the best defensive back in the game with Asomugha - Howard, Morrison, Burgess, Kelly, Johnson are all solid enough young guys on defense -
The offense is obviously still a work in progress - Taking Russell over Calvin Johnson or Joe Thomas was probably not the right move and looks to be a possible set back at this point - Although there were many out there who gave Russell a tremendous rating coming out of LSU -
There is a good core group of runners with Bush, McFadden and Fargas - Zach Miller looks to be a promising tight end - Higgins started coming on late last year - I have seen receivers like Javon Walker (Terry Glenn in GB) written off before, only to make it back -
There are obvious problems on the line and at the receiver position - But a good draft this year could be the start of changing things around and getting them back on a winning track -
Especially if Russell can come close to living up to his initial expectations - Taking a QB early is always a hit or miss proposition to an organization -
The fact that Oakland has been in at least one Conference Championship or Super Bowl in the past five decades is a testament to Mr Davis ability to run an organization - Whether you agree with it or not -
Here we have a team that is a couple plays or missed calls away from possibly being a 5 or 6 time Super Bowl champion under the legendary Al Davis -
Putting Al Davis in the #25 on down category is an extreme disservice - And a very inaccurate portrayal in my view -
B Roo - an honest evaluation would put Kraft at #1. Regardless of what one thinks of the Patriots, it's a darn good organization and his ownership style has been key to it all. Like it or not, they are the standard that most teams strive to achieve. But you'd also have to include the Rooney's in that discussion as well.
Love my Packers but their handling of the Favre fiasco was a major black-eye that shouldn't have happened. Moneyball was a huge problem prior to TT. Can't really rank them any higher than third at best, and that might be a stretch. They're good but definitely not the best out there today.
I can't believe that the Colts who have been perennial SB contenders are ranked below the Dallas Cowboys?
I'm not a Arizona fan but I think they deserve more credit than that! Look at what's going on now in the league. How are the Broncos a top franchise and Arizona is not? They made the superbowl. The moves the Broncos have made in the past 3 months puts them as a bottom tier at best! Putting Bowlen and Mcdumbass as a elite franchise is a joke. They will trade up with the rams for the 2nd pick and another soon to be Matt Leinert in Mark Sanchez. What can Sanchez learn from watching two back ups fight for the starting job? Oh yeah how to suck! Top Franchise.... NOT! If the Radiers are 30th the Broncos are 32nd! Sanchez, Orton, Simms....Elite Franchise??? How do you figure? They will not have a playoff team in five years and probably will rebuild again!
This has been a fun series, but we need to talk about Jerry Jones.
Look, I give him credit for hype, marketing, revenue streams and the like. I give him a LOT of credit for recognizing the history of his franchise.
But, at the end of the day, Dallas' biggest problem is they do not have a General Manager. Until Jerry hires one, they will be where they have been for the last 10 years: One and done in the playoffs.
A general manager would tell Jerry "No, let's not give Detroit a first round pick for Roy Williams."
Dallas, as a franchise, has a certain marketing thing going that I give Jones credit for.
But as a football team, it's a disaster.
BPIMU - You need to remember that Mr. Boland is referring as much to the business side of the teams as to on-field performance. The Raiders are currently ranked 31st in overall team value and only 25th in annual revenues (according to Forbes). AD is grossly overpaying his FAs in recent years, he's embroiled in a stadium fiasco, he doesn't play nice with much of the media, and long-term leadership... let's not even go there.
Yes, ADs contributions to the game are legendary. The business side is clearly lacking.
Same with the Cards - how does a team with a relatively new stadium end up in the bottom of the league in revenues? They're failing on the business side
"I have to strongly disagree with the assessment of Mr Davis at #30 here as well - One must consider just 6-7 years ago, Oakland had a veteran team in a Super Bowl - Veterans that had to be replaced"
But in this age of parity (sp?) 6-7 years is too long to be near the bottom of the league. After remarkable turn-arounds by teams like Atlanta and Miami in recent years, the rebuilding excuse dries up after 2 or 3 years. Plus, I don't see the Raiders getting significantly better, do you? No decent coach would want any part of that team until Al isn't around to ruin it for him.
Also, what kind of a personnel guy gives Javon Walker 6 years/$55 million, Deangolo Hall 7 years/$70 million (plus a 2nd rounder to ATL), Gibril Wilson 6 years/$39 million, and Tommy Kelly 7 years/$50 million?? AND ALL IN ONE OFFSEASON????? The first three are gone less than a year after they signed their contracts, and Kelly has already restructured his deal. What an offseason!!
Scott, I understand the business side of team values and annual revenues - But one must also consider that Oakland was ranked around the top 20 at Forbes just a few years back when they had a good club - Winning and player notoriety also creates value and revenue within a franchise -
And the smaller market clubs have only so much of a ceiling when it comes to revenues - This will really show up if we have an uncapped year in 2010, as certain teams will not be afforded the ability to compete within the league - Which has nothing to due with how they are run and everything to do with their ceiling as a franchise and smaller market club -
Also putting a winning product on the field at all costs overrides annual revenue with some owners, as it should in my view -
So my take is - The revenue issue is often a misnomer and non factor -
In this article as his prime reasons for ranking Oakland 30th - Boland immediately insults Mr Davis with "valuing false declarations of loyalty more than competence." - In calling Mr Davis loyalty to his Raiders a lie, which many ex Raiders players and personnel will say otherwise -
Then Boland follows that up with this bit of unwise reasoning in saying "Sadly, while honoring the past, Davis desires to live in it, and for all his past excellence, time has passed him by and his franchise lags on the field and off." - While the fact remains Oakland is just about five season removed from a Super Bowl appearance -
Heck Tom Benson's Saints have never even been to a Super Bowl in his 23 years of ownership and Benson's Saints gets graded 5 spots higher than Oakland -
So either Boland has an axe to grind with Mr Davis based on his initial insult in calling the man a liar with respects to his loyalty to former Raiders players and personnel - Or Boland is rushing to judgment after a small period (five years) of down time for the franchise based on their record -
Bottom line - Ranking Mr Davis and Oakland 30th is an insult and undeserving - And everyone here knows it - Including the writer -
Lemme, Miami just signed Wilson to a five-year, $27.5 million contract - The deal includes $8 million in guarantees -
DeAngelo Hall just signed a 6 year contract with Washington for $55 million - The deal includes $23 million guaranteed -
And Walker is still in Oakland - So two are there and two are gone -
BPIMU - I think you're reading Mr. Boland's statement incorrectly. He's not questioning AD's loyalty to the Raiders, he's saying, quite correctly I might add, that AD is more concerned with his staff being loyal than he is concerned with them being competent.
While it's true that Raider on-field success relatively recent, I believe what the author is getting at is how rapidly the organization has basically become a parody of itself. He's gone through what, four coaches in five seasons? They went from Super Bowl caliber to can't win more than five games in a year literally in one off-season and have stayed at that level for five consecutive seasons. Were it not for the collapse of the Chiefs, the Raiders would've finished last in their division for five straight years. In recent times, I don't know that any team has sucked wind this badly for this long.
This isn't a historical ranking - this is a snapshot of the current status of these organizations. Like it or not, he's correct with regards to where the Raiders are today.
Bill- You're right, I for some reason thought that Walker was already gone.
But to your point about Wilson and Hall signing similarly big deals elsewhere: I wasn't saying that signing all those guys to huge contracts was ridiculous. I was saying that the fact that two of them are gone after only ONE year (less in Hall's case) is ridiculous, especially when the two guys still there were less than great last year.
The Redskins signed Haynesworth for 7 years/$100 million (though after four years and $48 million they can cut him w/ no further obligation). As big as that contract is, its not necessarily ridiculous because he's a great player. But if they were to cut him after two years and still owe him the balance of that guaranteed money, THAT would be ridiculous.
Scott, If that is Boland's point, then I still disagree with it - Basically the claim then is that Lane Kiffin was a competent coach, and I disagree with that notion wholeheartedly - Kiffin is a spoiled petulant child -
Just look at Kiffin's entrance into the SEC this season and his attack on the programs-coaches within the conference -
During his tenure in Oakland - Kiffin threw his staff under the bus publicly, in efforts to get more organizational control by getting daddy Monte in as the DC there - Kiffin also threw his several of his players under the bus publicly -
Rob Ryan was doing just fine with the defense on hand - One can look no further as to how many job opportunities Ryan had this offseason and the ones prior to it when every effort was made to keep him in Oakland - But Kiffin had to have his daddy's cover 2 scheme or else all hell was gonna break loose...and it did when he didn't get his way -
Scott you are also incorrect in claiming this is not a historical ranking of the organizations -
Look no further than Boland's opening comments on the Cardinals
Robert Boland said: "For nearly half a century, the Bidwills have had a reserved space at the bottom ranks of NFL owners."
If it was soley a current analysis of the organizations the Super Bowl, the Cardinals team would not be ranked 28th - As Arizona currently has one of the top coaching staffs in the NFL and a core nucleus of young talented players on the roster -
If it was soley a current analysis of the organizations the 2008 Super Bowl Cardinals team would not be ranked 28th -
Lemme, One has to look at the guaranteed money given and circumstances surrounding the signing - The hits they took to their cap with both Hall and Wilson were not anywhere near to breaking them -
Also Mr Davis made it perfectly clear in his press conference that previous HC Lane Kiffin said he must have DeAngelo Hall for that team - The onus of the Hall signing was on Kiffin - Who was fired four games into the season for his disruptive nature and failure to pull this team together as one -
Hall was then released shortly after (week 8) Kiffin's firing - As Hall had given up more yards than any other corner in the NFL to that point and was tied for 3rd in catches allowed -
Now I am not defending all the recent moves made here - As I have previously noted the drafting of Russell over Calvin Johnson and Joe Thomas - Who were also positions of need for this team and both players had less downside than the quarterback - And in saying this I am not calling Russell a bust, there is still hope for him -
As I showed previously, the cupboard is not completely bare with this team - At least not nearly as bad as it is with several others on this list with respects to player talent - The Raiders have some nice young talent and if they can catch a few breaks in the upcoming draft, things could change for the team in a short time -
I LOVE the Raider Nation!
BPIMU - Nonsense on the Arizona claims. One year of on-field success doesn't mean the BUSINESS is going well. Last year was the first winning season Zona has had since '98. They haven't had a coach last four full seasons since the 80s. They have a brand new stadium and yet they generate little money. Their home game attendance is regularly among the worst in the league. Yes, they have a nucleus of young talent but they also are surrounded by the fiascos with Boldin and James, and they nearly duplicated it with Warner. As Boland noted - if it weren't for their recent on-field success and sudden ability to find talent, they'd be dead last.
And again, you're jumping to conclusions on AD - what Boland is saying is not that Kiffin was competent. What he's saying is that competence was not the primary reason that AD chose to hire Kiffin. Kiffin's false assurances of loyalty to AD got him hired because it caused AD to overlook the fact that Kiffin was totally incompetent. Either way, doesn't AD deserve some of the blame seeing as how he hired the idiot in the first place?
Scott you were the one who claimed and I quote "This isn’t a historical ranking - this is a snapshot of the current status of these organizations" -
Now you are claiming it isn't a historical ranking based on and I quote "Last year was the first winning season Zona has had since '98. They haven’t had a coach last four full seasons since the 80s." -
So either you need to make up your mind and stick to the historical intent I initially commented on - Or continue to play both sides in efforts to create a false discussion -
As for what Mr Davis has done within the last 5-6 years - I have acknowledged, as I am sure he would-has himself - That there were some mistakes made -
The Raiders and Mr Davis with teams in Conference Championships and Super Bowls in 5 consecutive decades - Some of the most loyal fan base in the NFL - And an owner who is willing to spend whatever it takes to win at all costs - Is in no way deserving of the 30th ranking here based on 5-6 years of down time in trying to get the right coaching staff and the players to replace the great veterans they had who lead them to the 2002 Super Bowl -
I am done with this discussion now - If you want to side with Boland and claim that 5-6 years of down time erases 5 decades and putting a superior product out - Then there is nothing more to discuss - Have a good one -
Now you are claiming it is a historical ranking based on and I quote "Last year was the first winning season Zona has had since ‘98. They haven’t had a coach last four full seasons since the 80s." -
I am done with this discussion now - If you want to side with Boland and claim that 5-6 years of down time erases 5 decades of putting a superior product out - Then there is nothing more to discuss - Have a good one -
I believe there are a good number of credible head coaching candidates who will not consider working for the Raiders because they know AD will not give them the latitiude they need to run the team. In this regard, I think AD had to settle for Kiffen - a poor choice. Let's face it, no one else had identified Tom Cable as a head coaching candidate either.
In Dallas, the issue is a bit different. JJ isn't picking players to fit the Wade Phillips system. Rather, Phillips has to coach the players JJ picks for him. JJ's ego can't coexist with guys like Jimmy Johnson and Bill Parcells. He's a great businessman, but I think the football side will suffer as years go by.
The winner of the BPIMU and Scott is.................................................BPIMU!
Thanks BPIMU for sacking the long winded flip floper!
You need to check your facts on Benson and the Saints return to New Orleans...
Benson wanted to build a stadium in his backyard in San Antonio and put the Saints there...
Tags and the league office came and reminded him of the noblesse oblige...
Rita Benson, daughter, with money from the NFL, got the Saints back in New Orleans...
JT,
As to your point about the Raiders doing nothing without Shell or Gruden, I would counter that Kraft has done nothing without Belichick or Parcells. More to the point, Snyder, Brown, Benson, etc., all ranked above Al, have done nothing with anyone, period.
My point is not to whitewash the struggles of Davis's Raiders in recent years. My point is that even with those struggles his organization has accomplished more in the last 15 years then many of the owners ranked above him, and that's not even counting his continued leadership in diverse hiring practices, etc...
blow me
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Apr 21, 2009
08:37 AM
Well Lions... here's a critical part of your history to seriously improve. Good luck in the upcoming draft!