Putting The Pieces Back Together - Again

2002 Gruden - traded to Tampa Bay for high draft choices and $8M
2003 Callahan - "This has got to be the dumbest team in America" shown the door.
2004-2005 Turner - Adios Norvell
2006 Shell II - Shell and Walsh (Mr. B&B) win a whopping 2 games with the most antiquated and impotent offense in NFL history. See ya!
2007-2008.25 - Kiffin - Relieved of duties for "cause".

5 Head Coaches spanning the past 6.25 seasons have left Oakland for a variety of reasons including poor team performance.

(a) Free will (see Gruden)
(b) Losing the locker room (Callahan)
(c) Poor leadership (Turner)
(d) Out of touch with modern players/game (Shell II)
(e) Alleged insubordination (Kiffin)

Who hand selected these Head Coaches? Who was unable to retain the 1 Head Coach who had sustained excellence? Who is responsible for acquiring the personnel to comprise the team? Who is ultimately responsible for 5 consecutive seasons of double digit losses? And now that there is another mess to clean up, who needs to get out a bucket and mop?

If this organization truly wants to be about winning, some how, some way, Al Davis needs to create a supportive work environment that empowers the staff and players to put their best foot forward. He needs to be held accountable for how he spends the cap dollars, the players he takes in the draft, the players he acquires in free agency, and most importantly, his decisions on Head Coaches.

With Davis' advanced age, health issues, and concerns for his wife, it is only natural that he is unable to devote the daily time, focus, attention, and energy that a team without a GM requires. One solution to the current mess is to hire a seasoned GM to shoulder some of the heavy lifting. A GM is an important bridge, advisor, buffer, moderator, and facilitator between the owner and coaching staff/players.

The Raiders have an excellent core of young players. It is time to "keep your eye on the ball", Al, unless you want your legacy to be irrevocably tarnished.