Al Davis finally made good on his promise to relieve Lane Kiffin of his coaching duties. So, the luckiest man in the Bay Area today is probably Lane Kiffin. Not only does he get to exit this mess, but he does so looking quite well.
Kiffin leaves the Raiders at a time when they were at their most competitive. He gets credit for that since his predecessors can’t say the same. Not since Jon Gruden coached the team have they been this tough opponent on opposing team’s schedules. Chances are they won’t be for the rest of this season either (any of the coaching options currently rumored aren’t ready to lead this group).
I feel both good and bad for Kiffin. He should have been given a legitimate shot in this his first NFL coaching gig. On the bright side, he walks away as a very hot coaching prospect. Additionally, he gets to exit the laughingstock of the NFL. Anywhere will be better than Oakland.
As for Al Davis, he continues to be the punch line to so many jokes. He lost reality so long ago that we aren’t surprised when he does something like this. I personally hope Kiffin follows in Mike Shanahan’s footsteps and utilizes every opportunity to embarrass Davis on the field. I don’t know what else would be more effective against Awful Al. He doesn’t care about how the product he puts of the field performs. The fans won’t send a message by not attending games. The players won’t revolt because they don’t have to be accountable (the blame always falls on the coach). As long as Awful Al gets to keep making every decision, nothing will change.
Maybe it’s time to become a 49er fan. It can’t be worse than this.