Filed under: Raiders, AFC West, NFL Fans, NFL Coaching
So while most of us were trying to enjoy Tony Kornheiser's wall-to-wall Brett Favre homage (the Chargers took exception, apparently, and commenced "Operation Beatdown" shortly after kickoff), the Raiders were busy making news of their own. And, as usual, not the good kind.
You see, it appears that owner Al Davis is interested in getting rid of head coach Lane Kiffin. You may have heard some mention of this. Well, it hasn't happened, but it's inevitable, and Davis' minions are doing their part to make sure Kiffin's canning becomes reality. Which leads to, as San Francisco Chronicle's Nancy Gay writes, "a Raiders official - once low-level but now high-ranking - verbally assault[ing] a reporter" after a Kiffin press conference.
You can view the hilarious awkwardness here, but know that the official, John Herrera, was really bummed at the Mercury News' Tim Kawakami for intimating that Herrera had earlier distributed an ESPN.com story critical of Kiffin. Funny story, via Gay:
This is about semantics. The Raiders printed copies of the column that implied Kiffin has a big mouth and should pipe down, and the media-relations staff made them available. They told reporters about the column and suggested they read it online. Herrera offered a printed copy of the column to one reporter. Others waved off Herrera. They weren't interested in accepting it because the Raiders were making such a blatant attempt to sway opinion.
So, to recap: Herrera went bonkers on Kawakami because, as best I can tell, Herrera's insane. That said, I applaud Davis and the Raiders for keeping things interesting amid all the losing. It's just one more reason why Matt Millen was the worst front-office type in the history of the game: he couldn't even be bothered to make losing accidentally interesting.
Sports
Of course, Kiffin, who must've been a serial killer in his previous life, has to bear the brunt of the foolishness, but he seems accepting of his fate. Plus, I give the guy a lot of credit for publicly calling Davis' bluff and refusing to quit. Must drive the old man nuts.
