Official 2008-09 NFL thread

[GeneralHankerchief]

Only 12 more losses games til Childress is run out of Minnesota! Woot!!

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

I'm already stockpiling torches and sharpening my pitchfork....

And in that vein, I'd like an overhaul of our entire offensive coaching staff, particularly in regards to playcalling. Reid and Mornhinweig (spelling?) have proven time and time again that they just cannot get it done in pressure situations.

Maybe we can pick up Kiffin as soon as he gets fired. That would be nice.

[Ramses II CP]

The rumors are getting pretty serious now. According to 'sources' Kiffin was fired last night and there's going to be a press conference in a few hours for Davis to explain and make the official announcement.

Now I'm not saying this has been a good team, but they really aren't that far out of it. I didn't like the play calling in the second half, but you can't pin that just on Kiffin, and the players themselves looked and played like they were worn out. This just feels like absolutely giving up on yet another season, and I don't think we should be at that point! What's the gain here with getting Kiffin out now as opposed to giving him four more games, to mid-season, to right the ship?

Argh! One of the stats I heard that did impress me, in a negative way, was that of the 15 losses under Kiffin the Raiders held a lead going into the 4th quarter in 11 of those games. That's a pretty epic bit of fail and it does seem to say that the problems are with the system, I'm just not sure how much of that system Kiffin was responsible for as opposed to Davis' own responsibility.

Whatever happens I can hear a giant flushing sound all the way out here on the east coast, and I hate it.

[Decker]

KIFFIN IS FIRED

Tis OFFICIAL

[drone]

Sounds like it was done with true class as well. When Kiffin is coaching the Chiefs in 2 years and is constantly beating the Raiders twice a year, maybe Al will learn...

[KukriKhan]

M'gaw, heads rolling in week 5. This sounds like an upper-management problem, moreso than a play-calling or play-execution problem. He'll find work, no doubt.

[GeneralHankerchief]

Eagles assistant head coach!
Eagles assistant head coach!
Eagles assistant head coach!
Eagles assistant head coach!

A guy can dream, can't he?

-edit- Actually, I've reconsidered. Shanahan should hire Kiffin so they can swap Al Davis horror stories.

[Decker]

M'gaw, heads rolling in week 5. This sounds like an upper-management problem, moreso than a play-calling or play-execution problem. He'll find work, no doubt.

Well it is upper management. Not only with Shanahan, but also with Gruden. Gruden was doing WOOOONDERS with the Raiders, yet, he was still fired? Why would anyone hire a coach who made playoffs nearly every season and then the AFC Championship game the previous season. And next season showed that indeed Gruden would have carried the Raiders to the final and win... but that is all dreaming as apparently Davis doesn't like a coach hired to "fix" his team, talk back. It's simple as to why, but with Kiffin... well that's a WHOLE 'nother story. He made it public, but then he got stupid with his remarks and began alienating people within the organization.

I do think, however(from actually watching the game at home and also on TV), that Kiffin's play calling on offense was bad and that he was hindering and not putting confidence in his quarterback or his receivers. He never appeared to have control over his entire team. He appeared to make the wrong changes at halftime, continually call uncommon-sense-like play calls on the offense. 3-14 and he runs the ball up the middle. So for me, I feel that although he did put to light some the "hassels" that a coach at Oakland faces, he made some errors and then his work on the field showed also. All-in-all he could have done a better job going about his comments and play calling. But in the end, I believe that we'll be better off without him and Davis HOPEFULLY will make the right decision with the next coach.