Former Oakland Raider coach Lane Kiffin files grievance, Al Davis strikes back

October 31, 2:06 AMOakland Raiders ExaminerPatrick Patterson

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"In this corner weighing in at 220 pounds, Lane Kiffin!

"And in this corner at 168 pounds, and his walker, Al Davis!

"Let's get ready to rumble!"

It had to happen. Ever since Al Davis had his press conference where he called Lane Kiffin everything in the book, and a few things not in any book, the Raider Nation has been waiting for the other shoe to fall. It has fallen, and like a good heavyweight title fight, the Raiders had a strong counter-punch out in the media before the ink was even dry on Kiffin's grievance.

Al Davis once said that he would rather be right than consistent. The truth of this matter, is that it is beyond a matter of right or wrong, this is an embarrassment to a once proud franchise, and a blinking neon sign saying, "DON'T WORK HERE" to future coaches.

Lane Kiffin's grievance reads as follows:

Although we are disappointed that the Raiders continue to perpetuate the spectacle they created by inappropriately trying their case in the media, we will continue to adhere to our policy not to comment on a matter which is the subject of the pending legal proceeding.

Needless to say, we are anxious to present our case to the Commissioner under a system in which the truthfulness of statements must be proven to an impartial arbiter. we are as confident as ever that the Commissioner will conclude that Coach Kiffin was not fired for “good cause.’’

This was a professional response to the unprofessional spectacle that Al Davis performed when announcing the ascension of Tom Cable to head coach. Calling a former coach a "professional liar" does absolutely nothing to help attract candidates for the job as the replacement coach, nor does it engender positive feelings throughout the organization.

The Oakland Raiders responded in a terse press release:

– Completely ignores the fact that Mr. Kiffin repeatedly made reckless statements that attacked players, assistant coaches and the owner of the team, and were damaging to the Raiders organization;

– Does not dispute that Mr. Kiffin made a number of statements to the media that were damaging to the Raiders organization;

– Attaches Mr. Kiffin’s signed contract, but ignores the provisions that explicitly stated that all of his duties were ‘all subject to the direction and supervision of the general partner’ of the Raiders and also ignores the provisions of his contract that required him to avoid any conduct “which would embarrass, discredit or disgrace” the Raiders. Mr. Kiffin failed to honor his contract;

– Ignores completely an NFL resolution that was expressly incorporated into every coach’s contract and that states that every coach: ’shall have an obligation to communicate openly and candidly with the principal owner and/or a his designated representative; to ensure that club ownership is informed on a complete and timely basis of all matters affecting the club’s operations, to respect the authority and responsibility of ownership to make decisions on behalf of the club; and to avoid actions that undermine or damage the club’s reputation or operating success.’ Mr. Kiffin violated each and every provision of this resolution through 2008;

– Ignores the fact that Mr. Kiffin’s false statements to the media were conveyed to the fans and the team, further damaging the reputation and good will of the Raiders organization.
Mr. Kiffin was terminated for cause. The grievance is without merit.

Once again, the Raiders decline to take any semblance of the high road. In fact, this is a full force counter-attack to a mild legal action taken by Kiffin. It was obvious from the original press conference that Davis was going for blood, and he is still going for the jugular.

The problem is that Davis is accusing Kiffin of "actions that undermine or damage the club’s reputation or operating success."  But through this all, it has been Al Davis that has been destroying the reputation of the Raiders. He was the one who was keeping Kiffin on the chain through the offseason and the first four games of 2008 with an air of uncertainty over his head. Rather than clear the air, Davis let everything just hang in the air for nearly a year. It was Al Davis who called a press conference to do nothing more than smear Kiffin's name.

The best thing that the Raiders could have done would have been to negotiate a buy-out with confidentiality clause. They could have kept all the disputes in-house and looked like a nice normal football team. Instead, the Raiders now look like a running joke off the field, and at times on the field.