More and More Scenarios (Kiffin Update)
By zbest
An update on the Lane Kiffin situation was reported moments ago by Jerry McDonald. McDonald refers to an Ira Miller article from The Sports Xchange:
"Lane Kiffin fired Rob Ryan before first consulting with Al Davis.Ryan, Miller reported, went to Davis to thank him for the opportunity, with Davis telling Ryan Kiffin had no authority to fire him.If true, it was a huge tactical error on Kiffin’s part _ the same error Mike Shanahan made when he attempted to fire Art Shell in 1989. Davis rehired Shell, and when Shanahan was fired during the season, Shell became the head coach.(I’ve been told things didn’t necessarily transpire in this order, but it’s worth mentioning because I have a lot of respect for Miller)."
There’s a little more info in the article, but the one thing that McDonald mentions, only doesn’t go into any further detail, is that of the prior reported interview with James Lofton.
"Former Chargers wide receivers coach James Lofton was visiting with Kiffin in his office Monday morning, according to senior executive John Herrera."
In time we’ll have a better idea of what happened between these three men (Kiffin, Davis, Ryan), but until then, it’s the little facts that I hold onto; that Kiffin is the one interviewing Lofton, and that the footage of Kiffin and Ryan joking on the sideline of the Senior Bowl like a couple lifelong friends is undeniable. These are the things that I’m trying to keep my focus on, because there’s obviously someone talking trash; either from inside the organization or out. I still feel like we know little to nothing about what really happened during the last month. To take one last quote from an article written by McDonald yesterday:
"Raiders and PFTInteresting to note that the Raiders are sending advertising dollars to ProFootballTalk.com, the hugely popular rumor and information site which makes its living posting the very stories which the organization spends time trying to refute.Stripped down the left side of the site is a “Raiders Image” ad, noting the stores are “owned and operated by the Oakland Raiders.”"
Could this just be a twisted old man’s ploy for attention? I don’t think so, but it’s just one more thing that’s keeping me from believing that we know half of what’s gone on.