Raiders have a new coach-Kiffin- only 31 years old

[faba]

Raiders Hire Young Kiffin As Head Coach

By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer

document.write(getElapsed("20070123T050831Z"));Tue Jan 23, 0:08 AMUPDATED 7 HOURS 56 MINUTES AGO

The Oakland Raiders hired Lane Kiffin on Monday night, making the 31-year-old Southern California offensive coordinator the youngest NFL head coach in decades.

Kiffin, the son of Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, earned the job with a strong interview Monday after the Raiders failed to reach a deal last week with 32-year-old Steve Sarkisian, Kiffin's fellow assistant to Pete Carroll at USC.

The Raiders called a news conference for Tuesday to announce the hiring.

Raiders owner Al Davis quickly moved to land another up-and-coming offensive mind with sterling college credentials, but just one season of NFL experience _ as a defensive quality control coach with Jacksonville in 2000.

At 31 years, 8 months, Kiffin is even younger than Harland Svare, who took over the Los Angeles Rams in 1962 at 31 years, 11 months. Svare is listed by the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Web site as the youngest coach in the modern era, though younger coaches _ including George Halas _ led teams during the league's founding years.

But Davis has ample reason to trust in young minds: Jon Gruden, Mike Shanahan and John Madden all succeeded as Raiders head coaches in their 30s _ as did Davis.

Kiffin is 14 months younger than Madden was when the Hall of Fame coach took over the Raiders in 1969. Davis was 33 years, 6 months when he took charge of the Raiders in 1963.

Kiffin, a former Fresno State quarterback, is younger than at least nine players who finished the season with Oakland during its NFL-worst 2-14 campaign, including defensive tackle Warren Sapp, fullback Zack Crockett and receiver Alvis Whitted.

Coach Art Shell was fired after the season, and Davis apparently was determined to hire another young offensive-minded coach in the mold of Gruden, his last successful hire. Davis has fired three coaches in the last four years: Bill Callahan, Norv Turner and Shell, whose return to the Raiders lasted just one year.

Kiffin had been at USC for six years, ascending from a job as tight ends coach to three jobs last season as offensive coordinator, receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. While former Raiders assistant Sarkisian coached from the sideline with Carroll last season, Kiffin called the plays from the press box for the Rose Bowl champion Trojans.

Sarkisian had two strong interviews with the Raiders last week, but decided to stay at USC on Friday night. Both claimed Sarkisian never was offered the job, though numerous media reports said Sarkisian turned the club down.

Davis first interviewed Kiffin on Thursday _ apparently to explore the possibility of hiring Kiffin as the club's offensive coordinator. Kiffin returned to the Bay Area on Sunday for a second interview, this time to discuss becoming the Raiders' head coach.

Kiffin also was a finalist for the top job at the University of Minnesota earlier in the offseason.

Former New York Giants coach Jim Fassel, San Diego Chargers receivers coach James Lofton and Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan also interviewed for the job.

The Raiders seem likely to invite Ryan to stay with the club after the coach helmed one of the NFL's best defenses last season. Oakland has serious personnel problems with one of the NFL's worst offenses _ but the club also has the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft.

Davis' club will get a fresh start after the worst season in his 44 years with the franchise. Kiffin, the former coordinator of USC's high-octane passing game, will be expected to revive an aerial attack that floundered despite the presence of discontented receiver Randy Moss.

Oakland's offense scored just 168 points last season _ the fifth-fewest in a 16-game season in NFL history. The Raiders were sacked a league-worst 72 times and finished last in most major offensive categories despite changing offensive coordinators from Tom Walsh to John Shoop during the season.

[4HCrew]

only the Raiders would bring a guy in to interview for a coordinator position and then hire him as HC

[joewilly]

wow, he's not even the 1st choice of the ass't coaches on a college football team. reminds me of when smizzy was hired here as moderator

[SoFlaJets]

I wonder where this puts Rob Ryan's status going forward....hopefully on Long Island with us this spring

[Sperm Edwards]

I wonder where this puts Rob Ryan's status going forward....hopefully on Long Island with us this spring

Only way that happens is if he gets himself fired from Oakland first.

[glenn212]

How can Ryan stay? They passed him up to hire a dude that was a QUALITY CONTROL coach this past year and got turned down by the University of Minnesota!! That is a quantum leap of faith by Crazy Al and his Raiders. I think they could'nt get any NFL position coaches or OC's or DC's to even take an interview. Oakland is the Black Hole of the NFL(no pun intended) and no coach who wants to stay in the NFL goes to Oakland..the place is a career killer.

[spjets]

poor kid just ruined his career already...

[johnny green balls]

wow, it has really gotten that bad.

[glenn212]

If Ryan is still under contract the first thing he should say to Kiffin is "get outta my face punk" get fired and its off to the NY Jets..seriously they (the Raiders) can't expect Ryan to stay after bypassing him for the quality control coach...jeez

[glenn212]

NFL head coaching no longer is the exclusive domain of men who have paid years of dues. As it was when John Madden was hired in 1969 to coach the Raiders at the tender age of 32, the league again become a proving ground for young, untested coaches who are receiving extraordinary opportunities to lead franchises.

The Raiders were the first to hire minority coaches in Tom Flores and Art Shell, and on Tuesday, the club officially handed its roster to the youngest man in the modern era to serve as an NFL head coach.

Lane Kiffin, 31, the former USC offensive coordinator, looked and sounded both nervous and excited as he outlined his vision for turning around a 2-14 team in 2006 and a franchise that has won only 15 games the past four seasons.

"I'm extremely excited about this opportunity and where I see this place going,'' Kiffin said during his formal introduction at the team's Alameda complex. "It's a historic franchise that had greatness and has fallen on tough times, but we will bring it back to where it was before.

"We will do that through hard work. I'm prepared to roll up my sleeves and go to work.''

Kiffin joins the growing ranks of a new NFL coaching fraternity, one filled with 30-something first-timers that include Mike Tomlin, 34, who was named head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, as well as the Jets' Eric Mangini, who turned 36 on Friday and also turned around that franchise. Mangini took the Jets from 4-12 in 2005 to 10-6 and a playoff berth his first season in '06, infusing a fresh identity to a tired team.

However, Tomlin and Mangini entered their positions with previous NFL experience as coordinators; Tomlin was defensive coordinator with the Vikings. Mangini served in that capacity in New England under Bill Belichick.

Kiffin is the son of former Raiders assistant and current Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, but the younger Kiffin's only previous NFL coaching experience was as a defensive quality-control assistant with the Jaguars in 2000.

No matter. Owner Al Davis, 78, initially might have focused his attention on USC quarterbacks coach Steve Sarkisian, who withdrew his name from consideration from the Raiders' job.

Davis' initial meeting with Kiffin on Thursday, during which the two discussed the Raiders' offensive-coordinator position under Sarkisian, made the owner take notice. He was taken by the drive and enthusiasm of Kiffin, who Davis said reminds him of former Raiders coach Jon Gruden, another 30-something coaching hire who freshened up a losing Oakland franchise.

With one difference.

"Right now, (Kiffin) is much more of the whole (package),'' said Davis, reminding everyone that Gruden went 8-8 his first two seasons (1998, '99) as coach. "Jon had to grow into it.''

Does that mean Kiffin guarantees an instant return? Probably not, but Davis believes, and that's all that matters.

Kiffin's contract will pay him $2 million a year for three years, and there are club options for the 2010 and 2011 seasons, according to a team source.

By Friday, USC boosters and coach Pete Carroll had enticed Sarkisian to stay with a huge raise, and the onetime Raiders quarterbacks coach called Davis to say he no longer was interested in the job.

Davis already had grown more intrigued by Kiffin. He dispatched a Raiders employee to gauge Kiffin's interest and the two parties met again three more times before striking an agreement Monday afternoon.

The damage left behind by the return of head coach Art Shell in 2006 will be difficult to undo. Despite having the NFL's No. 3-ranked defense under coordinator Rob Ryan, the team scored 12 offensive touchdowns, produced only 168 points and surrendered a staggering 72 sacks.

At USC, Kiffin often was criticized for conservative play-calling; USC followers have made him a whipping boy on various blogs and fan sites. He vows to implement an attacking offense to Oakland.

"I will bring an explosive, powerful offense to this franchise,'' Kiffin said. "We will utilize our skill players, our big-time players, in the best way. We will get them the football. They will play happy, and they will play hard.''

Kiffin said Ryan would remain in charge of the team's defense. "He's excited about this,'' the new coach said. "He's excited about working together to bring this organization back to greatness.''

Kiffin, who said he will call the offensive plays, promised tough practices with open competition for jobs, workouts that would be so energetic, "the game will become easy to them because practice will be hard.''

The rehabilitation of highly paid players such as wide receiver Jerry Porter -- a non-factor who was benched for clashing with Shell -- and wide receiver Randy Moss, who has spoken openly about losing interest in the Raiders and wanting a trade, will be a daunting task for a coach who is 29 years younger than his predecessor and younger than many of the players on his team.

"Players don't care about age,'' said Kiffin, who left Tuesday afternoon for Mobile, Ala., to begin assembling his coaching staff and to scout players. "Players want to be coaches. Great players want to get better, and that's what we're going to do. We will be up front with our players. We will be honest.''

Said center Adam Treu, who listened from the back of the room: "That's the part I appreciate the most -- that he wants to be honest with the players. We needed a change and I'm excited about this.''

And what about 2006, when the Raiders finished with the worst record in the NFL and the No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft? Davis acknowledged it nearly destroyed him, but it also pushed him to make a drastic change.

"It was a tough year. It was week by week, and it hurt. And as time went on, I realized, or at least I felt, that we had to go in a different direction. We have to move the clock back,'' Davis said. "We have to get youth in the organization, and we have to go ahead and attack. "(Kiffin) is someone who really means that he will attack.''