He fired coach Lane Kiffin "for cause" , claiming he would not pay off the considerable sum left on Kiffin's contract. Davis pulled this same stunt with another of his coaches, Denver coach Mike Shanahan. He was a moron who couldn't coach either. Must have learned a lot after he got to denver. LOL. I would hate to be in Commisssioner Roger Godell's shoes. He is going to have to rule on this. Davis sounded like someone who, to be charitable, should not be making decisions for an NFL franchise. His machinations to try to build a case for not paying Kiffin reflect poorly on the entire league. Godell will have to not only order the Raiders to pay off their legal obligation but also find a way to ease Davis out.
I don't follow the Raiders that much, and we don't get too much news on them out here. Any Raider Nation people out there who can comment on what if anything Kiffin did? Apparently he disavowed responsibility for the defense, which pissed Davis off. The sad thing is someone will take this job. There are only so many head coaching jobs out there, and one of them happens to be controlled by a crazy man.
The situation there reminds me of the Browns when we came back to town. Coaches in & out like crazy. Not a fun time at all.
Kiffin was considered a petty vindictive little turd while at USC. But Pete Carroll in his never-ending loyalty to his mentor Monte Kiffin always protected Lane. But of course Al Davis is a living breathing caricature of himself from the 70's So in my disinterested opinion due to my dislike of both of them....I'd say there are probably three sides to this story. His, Hers and the Truth. Here's lovely reminder of the type of customer Al Davis has engendered: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=auzzqw7UVAY
With regard to the Raiders again...I find it very interested that Kiffin's first real run in with the Al Davis mob revolved around the Raiders Defensive Coordinator Rob Ryan, son of Buddy Ryan. Remember the famous battles between Buddy Ryan and Mike Ditka back during the Bears heyday '84 on, and how they eventually ripped that franchise apart? Rob's just doing what his daddy taught him.