Any Thoughts On the Raiders' New Coach?
By wesderby
@wesderby (178)
United States
January 23, 2007 11:37am CST
Looks like Al Davis has gone for another young, offense-minded coach with his new hire, Lane Kiffin, Offensive Coordinator for the USC Trojans. At 31, this guy is the youngest active head coach.
I saw on Yahoo Sports, an AP article already saying that Al Davis's goal seems to be to bring in someone in the John Gruden mold...Young, good with the offense and such.
Kiffin, of course, handled all the play-calling for the offense this past season at USC, and according to the article I read, was pretty much the mastermind behind their great passing offense. That being said, even though Brady Quinn's apparently not showing up for the Senior Bowl, I wouldn't be surprised to see him in a Raider uniform next year...Especially if Kiffin gets input into the decisions made on draft day.
I think the team will need to cut some guys and replace some players on the offense...The defense was pretty solid last season, but we need guys who can put points on the board...A new quarterback, runningbacks who can actually RUN the ball...Basic things like that. With the right players and with Kiffin as the new coach, I expect to see some drastic improvements this season. I'm not saying it'll be a playoff year, but we'd better finish at least 500.
Any thoughts?
1 response
@groomtobe23 (635)
• United States
23 Jan 07
Personally, I think Al Davis has been part of the problem, and couple that with some underperforming players and it spelled doom last season. I like the new coaching choice, and it should bring some fresh outlooks on offense, and with Quinn they could be impressive. Any thoughts on RB's that they might pick up?
1 person likes this
@wesderby (178)
• United States
23 Jan 07
Boy, I have to admit, I'm not sure who's out there and available as far as HB's go, but they definitely need some new blood there.
I agree; Al has in many cases been moe of a detriment to the team than a help. Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio had someone from the San Francisco Chronicle on this morning talking about Kiffin being hired, and the reporter mentioned that part of why Al stays so involved is because, unlike most owners, football is his life and the Raiders are his ONLY business and source of income...At the same time, I'd think he'd want to step back and let his coach worry about the on-the-field stuff, and put out a winning product, thus making more money for himself and the team. Sure, the Raiders will always sell tickets and lots of merchandise, but that income can only go up if the team is winning, making the playoffs and such. It seems Al Davis let Gruden have more control than he has the last couple coaches...Notice, they won when Gruden was coaching. So yeah, the Raiders are generally better off when Al steps back and lets his coaches do their jobs.
