Greatness of Oakland Raiders in the past

September 23, 1:39 AMOakland Raiders ExaminerPatrick Patterson

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Raider Nation is in distress
Photo Patrick Patterson/TFDSsports.com

Once upon a time the Oakland Raiders were among the elite sports franchise. Despite the promise from Al Davis that "the greatness of the Raiders is in the future," the greatness of the Raiders lies in the dustbin of history with polyester leisure suits and disco music on 8-track tapes.

The Raiders have managed only three winning seasons since their return to Oakland in 1995, and following their embarrassment in Super Bowl XXXVII at the hands of former coach Jon Gruden the Raiders have been a woeful 20-63.

Even worse than the record has been the continual chaos that reigns supreme in the disorganized mess that is the Oakland Raiders front office. The Raiders have had seven coaches since 1995, with only Jon Gruden lasting more than two seasons. Of those seven coaches only Gruden had a winning record:

Mike White (2) 15-17

Joe Bugel (1) 4-12

Jon Gruden (4) 38-26 (Two playoff appearances -- loss in AFC Championship game, loss in Divisional Round)

Bill Callahan (2) 15-17 (One playoff appearance -- loss in SB XXXVII)

Norv Turner (2) 9-23

Art Shell (1) 2-14 (Had a previous tenure as head coach prior to time period of study.)

Lane Kiffin (1+) 5-16 (As of the completion of week 3 of the 2008 campaign)

These years from 1995 to present combine for an 88-125 record or a .413 winning percentage. What, then is the problem? Is it the coaches? Is it the players? Is it something else? At first glance it would seem to be with Gruden having something that none of the others did, a winning record. But, it also points to something deeper with the consistency of losing records. There is no player on the current roster who was with the Raiders during the Mike White years. There is only one consistent thread running from 1995 to the present and that is Al Davis and the Raiders chaotic front office.

The chaos in the front office that has long been grist for the rumor mill and fodder for Raider Haters has been brought to the front and center spotlight by the drama surrounding the Lane Kiffin tenure as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. This epic saga which has taken on all the characteristics of a Shakespearean tragedy has been going on since last December when a rumor floated that Lane Kiffin was interested in the head coaching job at Arkansas. Instead, it was Bobby Petrino who bolted the NFL to get back to the NCAA. Rather than addressing that rumor and scuttling it as a professional organization would, it festered behind the scenes for the remainder of the 2007 season.

Despite the rumor never being officially addressed, Lane spent the post season press conference making plans for the 2008 season and things looked positive in Raider-land. Of course, that only lasted a matter of days as Kiffin had reportedly let Rob Ryan go only to be overruled by Al Davis and the proverbial poop then hit the fan. Rather than handling this in a manner that resembles professionalism it played out as rumor and innuendo that continued through February and the scouting combine. As the offseason wore on through the draft and the organized team activities the rumor gradually faded as media attention turned from Lane Kiffin's wardrobe to Brett Favre's retirement return. The key is other than ONE cryptically worded memo, the rumor was never addressed.

Kiffin also was informed that he will not be involved in the free agent meetings and that he no longer is in charge of his own coaching staff. He may not hire or fire coaches, nor can he order anyone in the Raiders organization to do anything without the permission of the General Partner, that being Davis.

This would actually explain Kiffin's recent press conferences where he complained about the lack of moves being made. As of that time, Kiffin was stripped of his power to do anything in personnel matters. Stripping the head coach of authority is not the actions of a valiant leader, but a petty tyrant who puts his ego above the stated goal of winning at all costs. Essentially, Kiffin has been in the process of being pushed out for a year, which makes it nearly miraculous that he has been able to keep it together.

If the Lane Kiffin-Al Davis saga wasn't enough, Jason Cole of Yahoo Sports shows that even during the salad days of Jon Gruden and AFC West Championships the Raiders front office was not an ally in the battle to win games:

“It’s like I’ve said many times, every day was a fight inside that building to do what we did,” said Gannon, now a TV commentator. “We had to overcome adversity in the building and then get on a plane to go try to beat Denver.

“When I played in Kansas City, all I had to do was walk in the door. I didn’t have to worry about guys showing up late for practice or meetings, guys being out drinking until 3 a.m. or missing curfew the night before games. In Kansas City, that stuff didn’t happen. In Oakland, it was an everyday occurrence.”

That is quite telling coming from Rich Gannon who was the heart and soul of those Raider teams that were winning three straight AFC West championships.

A group of Raider fans is coming together to try to save the Raiders at RaiderNationRetaliation.com. Unfortunately there is only so much the fans can do, perhaps it is time for the NFL to step in and find a way to nudge Al Davis towards retirement from the day to day operations of the team. At one time he was a visionary who achieved his goal of creating a dominant sports franchise on his own terms, but as it seems he can't get out of his own way to save the very franchise that he built. He has become a tragic figure wrapped in his own hubris, clinging to greatness that is in the past. Until the team can be rebuilt from the top down and come into the present time, the Raider Nation can brace itself for a continued streak of futility.