Al Davis has always been considered a lot of things, a maverick, an icon, misunderstood, but now I have a new moniker for him, CLASSLESS. Today, Al Davis finally brought the gavel down on Lane Kiffin and put him in the unemployment line. This soap opera has been played out through the media for almost 3 weeks. When it finally ended today, Kiffin received a phone call and also was told that he wouldn't be getting a check. Even Scott Linehan was given the opportunity to meet with the team before walking out of the door. I'm not here to say that Kiffin is the next great coach in the league, but the situation that this guy was in (he fully accepted it because he took the job) was terrible. He was given the head coach's job but with no power. He couldn't get rid of his defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, whom Kiffin felt should have been fired. Kiffin also didn't agree with some of the off season moves that the Raiders agreed to. But at the end of the day, whether he liked him or not, Davis should have afforded Kiffin the respect of at least meeting with him to tell him he's gone. It's just classless by an organization that used to be great. Yes, that was years ago, when maybe Davis was still respected around the league. At this point, even the Raider faithful have to look at this and say, we screwed this guy, we screwed the last guy, and guess what, no one in their right mind is going to come and coach for us. We're screwed now. The Raiders have talent, but management seems to keep getting in the way. This is truly a sad day in football. It tells you a lot about the great legacy of the Raiders and how their owner is just simply classless.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Classless
Al Davis has always been considered a lot of things, a maverick, an icon, misunderstood, but now I have a new moniker for him, CLASSLESS. Today, Al Davis finally brought the gavel down on Lane Kiffin and put him in the unemployment line. This soap opera has been played out through the media for almost 3 weeks. When it finally ended today, Kiffin received a phone call and also was told that he wouldn't be getting a check. Even Scott Linehan was given the opportunity to meet with the team before walking out of the door. I'm not here to say that Kiffin is the next great coach in the league, but the situation that this guy was in (he fully accepted it because he took the job) was terrible. He was given the head coach's job but with no power. He couldn't get rid of his defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, whom Kiffin felt should have been fired. Kiffin also didn't agree with some of the off season moves that the Raiders agreed to. But at the end of the day, whether he liked him or not, Davis should have afforded Kiffin the respect of at least meeting with him to tell him he's gone. It's just classless by an organization that used to be great. Yes, that was years ago, when maybe Davis was still respected around the league. At this point, even the Raider faithful have to look at this and say, we screwed this guy, we screwed the last guy, and guess what, no one in their right mind is going to come and coach for us. We're screwed now. The Raiders have talent, but management seems to keep getting in the way. This is truly a sad day in football. It tells you a lot about the great legacy of the Raiders and how their owner is just simply classless.
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