The Kids Don't Stand A Chance

Great story! I've been a fan of the Raiders since Jim Plunkett was our QB. When ever I go to the games and see Jim he always gets a cheer from the crowd and he's humble as ever. Now back to the Story! I have had it with AL DAVIS! I feel like he could care less about the fans. We finally get the right coach with Gruden and the guy did nothing but win games! It was nice to see the Raiders back on top and finally getting respected again as a top team in the NFL. Because of Al's ego Gruden wanted out and Al got rid of him for some draft picks that havnt made the pro bowl. Bottom line you can blame the coach and players only for so long then sooner or later the hand points back to Al. Seriosuly what idiot Signs Arron Brooks, Cullpeper, McCown and many many more? So do we blame Kiffin? or Gruden? NO! Al needs to retire. If you look at the Raiders since winning the 1983 SB its horrible. 9 winning seasons in 25 years. Why cant the Raiders get a quality coach? Because its no secret nobody thats good wants to work for Al so he goes after the young no name coaches or the coaches that have failed with every team they coached!

May be I am missing something; the Raiders have been awful for the past five years and Al is not the fault? Every coach that comes in should expect Al to meddle in personnel decision, help design defense schemes and hire assistant coaches without the head coach input?

However, Kiffin should play the good soldier and do as expected of a puppet but take the blame for the failure of an organization being run in the ground by an owner who refuses to let go of the past?

I have been a loyal Raider fans since 1963 [Jim Otto was my favorite player] and been a huge supporter of Al Davis. However, he is almost 80 years of age and should have hired Kiffin as one who will take his beloved team beyond what he [Davis] has accomplished.

If Davis didn't hire Kiffin for that stated purpose, then Davis is doing all of us a grave misservice and doing great harm to the institution that he has built.

That's total B.S. The Raiders organization probably looks different from a players perspective, especially concerning Al Davis. Sure he's great at blowing bubbles up players butts about how great they were in college and how he even saw a tape of a peewee game when they were just 5!! But from a longtime fans perspective, it is totally refreshing to hear a coach take Al to task and lay blame at the feet of the sole person responible for creating an environment that has created 10+ years of losing...Gruden/Gannon years excluded, since that had nothing to do with Davis, he would have never signed Gannon, who was the main reason for the short lived success. Kiffin is the first coach that isn't just being a yes man for an owner that doesn't deserve it...look what treatment being a yes man got for Art Shell. Kiffin is sticking to his guns and what he thinks will help this team succeed until the end and that's more than any other coach has done for the players for as long as I can remember...

Adam I appreciate your insight and I agree with some of the things you said about Kiffins situation,but what Davis is doing has been going on for years.Davis has been a meddling owner far longer than you know,his decisions on players and coaching personel have been hurting this team since they moved back to Oakland.I'm 43 years old I've been dealing with this crap far longer than you've been playing.I can't deny the success he's had in the past but as you well know we live an a society that asks "What have you done for me lately".
Davis sat down Marcus Allen ,traded away Jim Lachey for Jay Schroeder and had Gruden let go of Willie Shaw after he led the defense from last overall to 5th.He hired Art Shell AGAIN and then let him hang out to dry after he Fired him.Davis has become a classless egomaniacle freak for a long time and it will only get worse. You don't think that other players around the NFL who have played for Davis haven't already spoken to those young players about what goes on in Raiderland,gimme a break.
I for one applaud Kiffin for what he is doing and how he is handling it,its time Davis taste some of his own medicine.Just talk to Mike Shanahan and see if he tells you different.

Growing up in the Bay Area,I have been a Raider fan since Kenny Stabler. I stuck with the team when they moved to LA and back to Oakland. I have lived in the Denver area now for 13 and 1/2 years and I'm tired of devending the Raiders everytime a Bronco fan say's the raider's suck, yes they do. How can I say otherwise. Not only has Al run the team to the ground, we as fans do not know if they will even be in Oakland after their lease is up in 2010?? It sickens me..

I'm a 30+ year raider fan as well. Looking back at the period between our last SB win to now, the only positive period was when Gruden was here.

Why? Because he refused to adhere to Al's antiquated football philosophy. Was Gannon an Al guy? no (JaMarcus is). But Gruden knew what system would be successful, and which players were needed to run that system - despite Al. Importantly, Gruden had Mike Lombardi as an advocate, and it worked.

Turn to Kiffin - young, plugged into the college tallent, knows what it will take to win. Isn't this why we were all excited in the first place? Therefore, if you're upset at Kiffin for not knowing better, then by extension, haven't we all been duped?

FYI, you were always a solid player, Adam. I'm glad to find you here doing well.

I think this is a tremendous column and I look forward to reading your comments every time you post them. BTW: Is there any way to get an email alert when a new column is posted?

Ok, I think everyone needs to consider the fact that we are looking at a complex situation from the outside. No one has the perspective on the Raiders that Adam Treu has. He's seen it and lived it from the inside. There are very few players who don't love Al Davis. Adam’s point about the impact of the instability on younger players is exemplified by some of the recently departed players who felt like they “escaped”. We have to remember they haven’t won many games and were unhappy. Think of the last job you left in which you were unhappy. It was always a breath of fresh air when you "escaped". These players care about playing and winning. Because they weren't winning or playing as much as they wanted, they were unhappy. Fine. I wish you luck. We don’t want McFadden and Russell to have careers like Barry Sanders and Archie Manning – brilliantly talented but highly frustrated by always losing.

The current issue is Kiffin. There is no question in my mind that Adam is right - speaking the Treuth - about Kiffin. He is using the Raiders as a stepping stone into the NFL. He has placed his own personal ambition ahead of the team. That's aggravating when it's a receiver (Chad Johnson, T.O., Moss, etc.), but it's absolutely disasterous when it's the head coach.

Moreover, Kiffin hasn’t done anything to deserve this massive benefit of the doubt from the media and fans. Al Davis is everyone's favorite target (whether he deserves it is beside the point) but Kiffin’s “honesty” and “candor” are not as honorable as he wants people to think. Has his brilliance shown on the field? The team is more competitive than under Art Shell, but that shouldn’t be a shock. Shell’s offense was outdated by 20 years. The only offensive success the Raiders have had has been through the running game. Thank Tom Cable for that. Kiffin’s offensive brilliance hasn’t been so bright so as to warrant giving a 32 year old coach more authority than HOF worthy coaches like Madden and Flores had. His “distancing” himself from Ryan doesn’t bring the team together. It will only serve to drive a wedge between the defense and the offense. It will only contribute to dividing the locker room. A head coach is supposed to be better than that. If you have a complaint, take it up inside the organization. Don’t get on a soapbox, because the people you are complaining to can’t remedy the situation.

The coach who has acted like a coach is Rob Ryan and Ryan's players are absolutely devoted to him. I say sack Kiffin and let Rob Ryan be the Head Coach.

Michael - Kiffin's "personal ambition" is to become a successful NFL coach. Why wouldn't he want it to be with the Raiders? He also knows that in order for this to happen, Al's outdated philosophy needs to change.

I agree, though, that in a normal world if you don't like your job you keep your mouth shut until you find another one. That's what everyone was expecting. However, a lot of us find in refreshing that he's telling the world what we've all known was wrong for a long time. That may be the only way to bring about the changes that are needed.

I can understand why Al Davis runs the organization the way he does. He is one of the great NFL men of history and his passion, his love in life, his very existence is the Raiders and football. Al Davis has been great to his players over the years but not necessarily so with the GMs and head coaches he has employed. They but heads because Al runs things his way. The Al Davis ways have no merit in today's football world as demonstrated by the Raider's win-loss record. I understand why Al Davis would hire Kiffin because Kiffin had no NFL experience or credibility as a head coach therefor Al could mentor Kiffin and run his team the same old Al Davis way. What I do not understand is how there was some confusion about the autonomy or lack of that Kiffin would have in running the team. Since when has any head coach been allowed complete autonomy in Oakland? Kiffin has zero credibility as a head coach and should totally thankful that he was given the opportunity as a head coach. All Kiffin had to do was keep his mouth shut to the outside world and fight the internal battles with Al like all the GMs and HCs before him. Then when the Al Davis ways ensured failure, Kiffin is off the hook. But if the Al Davis turns this team around then Kiffin gets all the credit because the football world has Al pegged as senile. To me not only has Kiffin demonstrated how dumb he really is but also how few virtuous qualities he has as a person, absolutely no leadership qualities.

adam, i appreciate your point of view and agree that this article was very well written. that being said, i think anyone sticking up for al davis in this situation needs to remove the blindfold! ultimately every decision rests on al's shoulders, and thus any mistakes made are on him. where is the general manager? or the rest of the front office staff? of course no owner would want to give complete control to a newbie coach, but when have you heard of an owner not letting the coach pick his own coordinators?! al vetoed the firing of rob ryan because he is someone on the staff that he can still control and tell what to do, period. kiffin and gruden knew what they were facing, and both come off as arrogant because they are the only ones who have stood up to davis and said "this ain't right!" this is not the way to run a franchise or a business, which let's be real here, it IS a business!! even bill gates doesn't have this much control over his business... and he started it! i think you really put things in perspective when you commented:

"If you’re a player, Mr. Davis is the best owner to play for. He was nothing short of stellar to me in my ten years there. But I know that does not always extend beyond the players."

it has been said time and time again, that davis will stand up for his players even if it means undermining the coaching staff. while i believe that players deserve a say and are an integral part of the franchise, there has to be some authority and that should start with the person hired to be that authority figure... the coach. what this franchise lacks is some accountability, and that is what i have taken away from last weeks three ring circus. the defensive coordinator should be held accountable for a poor performace and that is basically all kiffin eluded to in his press conference. if kiffin had made the defensive game plan, i'm sure he would have owned up to that mistake himself. and ryan did not disagree with kiffin's assesment (other than to say he did not discuss the plans with davis), he said put it on me, its my fault!

the fact of the matter here, and i think you laid it out for us, is that coaching instability is rough on players. so why would it be smart at all to fire a coach in the middle of a season?! its not!! it appears to me that kiffin is doing his best to remain as distraction-free as he can and coach this team. i'm sure a lot of other people might throw up their hands and lose that game to KC knowing that they might be fired the next day.

Adam great write... I respect the fact that you have been a player with the Raider organization. Al Davis has done some great things for the NFL, he orchestrated the NFL. Al Davis has one some Super Bowls hes a Hall of Famer geat. Al has also done some un ethical things as well, rip off the city or Irwindale for 4mil, bench Marcus Allen the list goes on. Its 2008 and we are committed to excellence right. So therefore we must be right from top to bottom, the Raiders are the laughing stock of the league because we have so much talent and we always find a way to lose. Kiffin did not create this mess, he has been trying to correct it. HC college assistant whatever every football fan can see the problem so why lie about it. Our defense needed an improvement our offensive line needs more talent and thats what he's trying to do as a head coach. So what happens Al makes some offseason moves to improve our secondary, talks Ryan into staying and drafts Kiffins resignation letter. Now we all saw the close games we should have one if our defense could get off the field.. 2008 our very first game the Broncos showed the world that the Raiders stink. Its no secret to football fans that Lane is just the offesive cordinator with a head coach title. How is it that our head coach doesnt make decisions regarding the defense and personnel. The HC watches film evaluates talent coaches players creates game plans. Kiffin has already told Al what the problem is, Al Davis fixed it his way and we get killed by our biggest rival at home on Monday night. If Al decideds to fire Kiffin or keep him I believe some good will come out of it; The fans can no longer blame the coach and at least we know the truth. The Raiders have work to do lets be honest about the situation and fix them, no one should be fired for being honest. Gees AJ Smith has created a good team know matter who the coach is

Thank you, Adam. You give a perspective that is unique. The players do lose out and that is sad because they have such short careers. You would think that CoachK would have spoken to Gruden before taking the job. I think that there were no surprises there.

I like CoachK's system and I would like for him to stay, but I know that won't happen. More rebuilding.