SouthernJet Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Sources: Raiders finally fire Kiffin, consider promoting assistants By Chris Mortensen ESPN.com (Archive) Updated: September 30, 2008, 1:03 PM ET The inevitable became reality Tuesday when Lane Kiffin was fired by Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis without pay via the telephone, according to team sources. Tom Cable, the team's offensive line coach, was emerging as the leading candidate to replace Kiffin, a source said. Cable was among three coaches interviewed by Davis on Monday night; the others were offensive coordinator Greg Knapp and special consultant Paul Hackett. Davis is expected to have a press conference later Tuesday to explain his decision to dismiss Kiffin. Unlike the St. Louis Rams, who fired coach Scott Linehan on Monday, the news was not delivered by Davis in a face-to-face meeting. Kiffin was notified by a team executive Tuesday morning that Davis would call him at 9:15 a.m. PT to relieve the coach of his duties. The call came shortly after that time. Linehan also was allowed to speak briefly with his players on Monday. Kiffin will not be afforded the same opportunity, a source said. The news did not blindside Kiffin, who was informed by a team executive that he would be fired after the Raiders 24-23 loss to the Buffalo Bills in week three. Even though Davis didn't act a week ago, as Kiffin was told, many team insiders expected the Oakland owner to fire the coach during this bye week. The Raiders are 1-3, having blown leads in the fourth quarter to the Bills and the San Diego Chargers. During Kiffin's 20-game tenure, in which the team was 5-15, the Raiders took leads into the fourth quarter of 11 games. Davis hired Kiffin, who was USC's offensive coordinator at the time, as the NFL's youngest coach at 31 years old in February 2007. Even though many observers questioned the hiring, Kiffin ultimately gained respect around the league for fielding a significantly more competitive team than the Raiders had displayed before he was hired. Despite being competitive in the majority of games, Kiffin and Davis had a falling out on several fronts, starting when Davis believed Kiffin expressed private interest in the head coaching position at the University of Arkansas during the 2007 season. However, it was well-documented that their relationship disintegrated when Kiffin attempted to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan after the 2007 season. A source said Kiffin suggested to Davis that the owner had reneged on an agreement that the coach would have control over his own staff. Shortly thereafter, Davis sent a letter of resignation for Kiffin to sign, sources said. Kiffin declined. Kiffin also opposed some of Davis' big free-agent signings such as wide receiver Javon Walker and, to a lesser degree, cornerback DeAngelo Hall, sources said. Kiffin also expressed public frustration that the team was not more aggressive in claiming other team's released players via the waiver process to strengthen the bottom of the roster. However, a Raiders source said that Davis privately sent a letter to Kiffin after the season's opening-game loss to the Broncos, attempting to "document" that the coach approved of the offseason acquisitions. A source close to Kiffin described that claim as "fiction." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afosomf Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 what do you mean without pay? Al davis still owes shanahan $1m, why would any assclown take this job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Damaged89 Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 The Raiders are going to continue to suck up until Al dies. It's a shame because they have some talent on that team (Scrabble, all 3 running backs, Russell etc) but that crazy old bastard seems intent on running the franchise. Who is going to take that job knowing that they could be fired on Al Davis' whim? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SouthernJet Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 The Raiders are going to continue to suck up until Al dies. It's a shame because they have some talent on that team (Scrabble, all 3 running backs, Russell etc) but that crazy old bastard seems intent on running the franchise. Who is going to take that job knowing that they could be fired on Al Davis' whim? NFL should intervene like they did in Cinncy a few years back... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NY JETS 29 Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 The only real thing I have to say about this situation is that Al Davis has always and will be an a-hole and I thought Kiffin was getting a raw deal, but after this moron attempted a 74 yard FG he should have been fired on spot, but who would really want this job???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Maybe he can bring back Art Shell. "We jes playin' Raiduh fooball." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snow_monkey Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I'm sure Kiffin knew it would end up like this at some point, when he took the job. There's no job security when you work for the Cryptkeeper. But the ugly way this all went down might mean that he'll never get another shot in the NFL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowmoe57 Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Maybe he can bring back Art Shell. "We jes playin' Raiduh fooball." 3rd times a charm -- I am glad I am not a Raiders fan -- stubborn old fool needs to be put in a home Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbyjet69 Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 The only real thing I have to say about this situation is that Al Davis has always and will be an a-hole and I thought Kiffin was getting a raw deal, but after this moron attempted a 74 yard FG he should have been fired on spot, but who would really want this job???? No way! Did he really try 74 yd fg? Holy crap!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowmoe57 Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 No way! Did he really try 74 yd fg? Holy crap!!! Yes he did but in his defence - if you could call it that - 1 - it was the end of the first half - i believe and no harm came from it 2 - maybe he figured his job was going away and this was his big **** you to Al Davis 3 - brain fart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 if kiffen has balls, he'll sue davis for the money remaining on his contract Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serphnx Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I was watching that game, and the Raiders had plenty of time to run at least one more play to get the ball closer, and more than likely 2 plays. Not that it matters. The Raiders have a lot of nice players and prospects. I was watching Russell, Higgins, Bush and McFadden play and I was impressed with all of them. That defense as a whole really plays with effort too. It's clear to me that the team was playing hard and they were close, very close to really becoming a good team. I actually felt that maybe they could be a WC team, especially with the state of the AFC right now. Losing to the Chargers isn't a big deal. Now I think all those players are going to be wasted. I wonder if the Rams will go for Kiffin. He seems to be a solid coach. He could really grow into a job with a legit NFL team. I'm not sure that the Rams are it either though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StillerPaul Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Watched lil' bit of Al's PC..... "He didn't want JaMarcus Russell, JaMarcus is a GREAT player..." Yea we'll see, Al. Al has a history of getting into it with coaches, yet they still find a way to win every few years or so. That guy has no stability or patience whatsoever IMO. I'd like to see the longggggggggg list of HC candidates that actually turned the Raider job down due to him. I can think of Ken Whisenhunt most recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afosomf Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 if kiffen has balls, he'll sue davis for the money remaining on his contract hello shanahan did and never saw the loot Al is the devil and spawned mumbles i hear.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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