The Bocker.com

It has recently come out that Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis sent his Head Coach Lane Kiffin a letter of resignation two weeks ago and asked him to sign. Kiffin has refused and has challenged Davis to fire him instead. Lane Kiffin went 4-12 with the Raiders last season, his first as Head Coach, and has two years left on his contract at $2 million per year. If Kiffin does resign he’ll join former Miami coach Cam Cameron in the one and done category. Both Kiffin and Cameron were first time head coaches this past season and inherited cellar-dwellers to boot. Which leads me to my question, how quickly can an owner expect results when the team is as bad as the Raiders or Dolphins?

Now, I’ll admit, I’m one of those guys that can get on a coach after two years of mediocrity. It took me two years at Pitt before I called for the ouster of Walt Harris. My first year there, 2002, he won 9 games and the Insight Bowl and, my sophomore year, he won 8 games and Pitt lost the Continental Tire Bowl to Virginia. The next season Pitt backed into the Fiesta Bowl by winning the Big East title almost by default and was memorably blown out by a Urban Meyer led Utah. Harris was fired at the end of the season and Dave Wannstedt stepped in as coach. His tenure has been considerably worse, as Pitt has failed to make a bowl game and have gone 5-7, 6-6 and 5-7. Yet I am willing to give Wannstedt two more seasons to show what he’s worth before I call for his ouster.

The difference between the two situations is simple. Walt Harris spent 8 seasons with Pitt and every year Pitt failed to challenge the powers in the Big East. Harris did resurrect Pitt from anonymity in the late 90s but after building them into a solid contender the program never made the leap to challenge the teams at the top. Harris had reached his peak and it was time to get a new coach. Wannstedt has struggled early but he has also proven himself a top recruiter, bringing in players such as LeSean McCoy who will star at Pitt for the next 2 -3 years. It is the influx of top recruits that gives Pitt fans hope for the future and allows Wannstedt a few years to coach his players. Every coach needs some time to install a system and a chance to get his recruits to pay to full potential. If in two season Pitt is still missing out on bowl games it will be time for Wannstedt to leave.

Wow, who knew I’d turn this into a Pitt article? Going back to the NFL, it’s tough to judge a coach after just one season. Considering Kiffin inherited a team that nobody thought would contend, his poor record in his first year can’t come as a surprise to owner Al Davis. So why is he already trying to push Kiffin out then? One questionable decision was not starting number one draft pick JaMarcus Russell as the season wore on and it became clear the Raiders weren’t going to make the playoffs. Perhaps the players came to Davis to complain. Or maybe Davis is angry that Randy Moss is in the Super Bowl with the Patriots after setting the TD record for recievers this season, and the Raiders gave him away for 50 cents on the dollar. The more likely reason is that Al Davis has gone senile. Surely Kiffin should be given another season or two to bring in some better personnel and for the players to become more familiar with his new system.

Al Davis is probably the most colorful owner in the NFL and has butted heads with the league itself in the past. Much like George Steinbrenner, the Yankees owner, he has been known to make knee jerk reactions. It has been rumored that Davis plans on bringing in Dennis Green to replace Kiffin. This rumor has been debunked by Green himself but it gives me an excuse to run this video.

My final verdict is this. If the stories are true, and Davis is trying to fire his coach, then he is being foolish. Kiffin is young and he is learning on the job. He can’t be fully evaluated until he has 2-3 seasons to show what he can do and to see if he can improve the Raiders. Calm down Al. Why don’t you take a nice cold shower and cool off a bit before you do anything you’ll regret in the morning.

Note: The article this story was taken from can be found here.

Photo Courtesy Of: ESPN (Icon SMI)