Posts tagged AlDavis at FanHouse

ESPN's Chris Mortensen seems mild-mannered enough. But apparently, there are only so many times you can accuse a guy of bearing false witness before he snaps. Or maybe that just applies to Al Davis, who appears to take great joy in refuting Raiders-related rumors, no matter how obvious or innocuous they may be.

Yesterday, Gretz pointed out that the Raiders disputed Mortensen's report that Davis was attempting to sell off a portion of the team. Seems harmless enough, right? WRONG.

Raiders executive John Herrera said that "once again, for reasons known only to him, Mortensen has fabricated a story which has no basis in fact." And then he punched an unsuspecting media member in the face to bring home his point. Okay, that didn't really happen, but it might've tempered Mortensen response if it had.

In an e-mail to the AP, Mort offered this:

A couple of weeks ago, reports surfaced that Raiders owner Al Davis might be interested in Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride to take over the team's head coaching duties. It had to be shockingly bad news for Raiders fans, seeing as how Gilbride's only head coaching experience was a 6-16 run with the San Diego Chargers during the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

Of course, it was just a report of a name that might interest the Raiders. Well, on Saturday, Davis and Gilbride apparently had a 90-minute phone conversation, which has to have fans in Oakland throwing papers in the air and screaming for the return of John Madden. So, does this lengthy phone conversation mean the Raiders are interested in Gilbride's sevices? If you ask John Herrera, the answer is no, no it does not.

"Mr. Davis has known Kevin for a long time and was more than willing to oblige and have that conversation," Herrera said. "They had an interesting hour-and-a-half conversation Saturday at Gilbride's request. End of story."

I realize Gilbride, like any current assistant, is probably looking for an opportunity to become a head coach -- it's more glamorous than being a coordinator, obviously, and it's certainly better for your bank account -- but is it really a wise career choice for him? Is it better to be the offensive coordinator for a consistent playoff contender, or attempt to take over what has to be considered the worst coaching job in the NFL right now? Frankly, if I were Gilbride I'd stick to the former, at least until Davis hands the keys to the Raiders over to somebody else.

It's been a few weeks since the Oakland Raiders front office put themselves in the news, so I guess they figured it was a good time to bring us all some entertainment on Wild Card weekend, with a little help from ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

On Sunday, Mortensen passed along some inside information that Al Davis, owner of the Raiders, was attempting to sell a portion of the team to billionaire Dean Metropoulos. This did not go over well in Davis' lair, according to Steve Corkran of the Oakland Tribune.

Keep in mind, during Davis' bizarre press conference following the firing of Lane Kiffin, Davis referred to Mortensen as "a professional liar," so I'm guessing if Mortensen reported the sky outside his office as being blue, Davis would probably find a way to dispute the report. Anyway, here's what John Herrera had to say on the matter after speaking with Davis.

"The report from Chris Mortensen which states that the Raiders, Al Davis and Amy Trask are in negotiations with Dean Metropoulous to sell the team is totally unfounded and false," Herrera said. "Once again, for reasons known only to him, Mortensen has fabricated a story which has no basis in fact."

Thanks to a 39-yard Joe Nedney field goal as time expired, the 49ers closed out their season with a 27-24 win over the Washington Redskins on Sunday afternoon. With the victory, San Francisco ends the season with a 7-9 mark, which was capped off with a 5-4 run under interim head coach Mike Singletary.

After some speculation earlier in the week that Singletary would be remaining with the team in 2009, the 49ers confirmed it following Sunday's win, and signed Singletary to a four-year, $10 million contract, as reported by Matt Maiocco of the Press Democrat.

49ers president Jed York on the signing: "This is the last time our season ends in December."

You know, as long as the 49ers play in the NFC West, he might be right. I mean, just look at that division this season, and ask yourself if it's likely to get any better next season. Is it entirely out of the question for this team to enter 2009 as a legitimate contender for the division title? I mean, they only finished two games out this season despite the 2-5 hole Mike Nolan and J.T. O'Sullivan helped them dig over the first seven weeks.

Obviously, Bill Parcells is getting a lot of credit for the turnaround of the Miami Dolphins.

There's no doubt that Tony Sparano has done a fantastic job, but Parcells is the architect who made Sparano's work possible.

The Dolphins are one win away from a division title, and on the morning of their showdown with the Jets, there probably aren't many players contemplating Parcells' future. After all, he signed a four-year deal last year, so why would he be going anywhere?

Because he's Bill Parcells, that's why.

ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported on Sunday NFL Countdown that Parcells' contract has one "out" in it. This "out" would allow Parcells to walk within the next month or so, and it would give the Dolphins no method of obtaining compensation should Parcells sign with another organization.

The "out"? If Wayne Huizenga closes on a sale of the franchise.

And guess what could happen as soon as Tuesday?

It doesn't matter your affiliation to a certain team, we can all admit that, during a sports year, athletes make just as many idiotic decisions on the field as they do off it. You have backward passes, premature celebrations, and rare "I'm not even sure what was supposed to be happening there" plays that can make you go bald from all the head scratching. This year was no different in the NFL, and here is what we came up with as the NFL's dumbest plays of 2008.

Dan Orlovsky's Phantom Safety -- Do you want to know how bad this play actually was? When bringing this idea up to the FanHouse football group, all I had to say about this play was, "Dan Orlovsky." Everyone knew which play I was talking about. The poor guy was thrown into a terrible situation in Detroit, and decided his legacy was going to be "running out of the back of the end zone without ever really knowing what went on." Running out of the end zone as a quarterback is one thing ... not knowing you did so and continuing the play is quite another. I can guarantee Orlovsky one thing -- his video will be shown by high-school coaches all around the nation as what not to do when stuffed back by your own end zone.

The Free Kick Attempt by Neil Rackers -- It sure wasn't the dumbest play of the year, but it was definitely the most confusing. With five seconds left in the first half against the Giants, Ken Whisenhunt actually made the decision to opt for a "free kick," even though nobody knew what in the world a free kick was. Rackers set the ball up on a tee, rared back his heavy leg and ... muffed it. Not only was it unsuccessful, but it gave the Giants a chance to return it. I guess the good news was that we learned what a free kick was and that Rackers has no 68-yard leg.

It didn't take Lane Kiffin long to find another job after his rather infamous year-and-a-half stint as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Recently, he's been named head coach at the University of Tennessee, and was able to get his father, Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, to join him.

Kiffin continued to fill out his staff at Tennessee this week by hiring a couple of his former colleagues in the Oakland organization. According to Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune, offensive line coach James Cregg will be leaving to join the fighting Kiffin's, while two other members of the Raiders front office -- director of football operations Mark Jackson, and Steve Reaves, whose job was to essentially make copies and go on coffee runs -- also left the organization today, presumably, to join Kifin.

Somewhere in his lair, owner Al Davis is throwing papers in the air trying to find a way to sue somebody, or, if all else fails, fire somebody. I'm sure at some point Davis will have a reaction to this in the form of a bizarre press conference, so, while we wait, let's get the reaction of current Raiders sacrificial lamb (head coach) Tom Cable.

While football fans (and perhaps owners) in Washington and Cleveland are having dreams about Bill Cowher leaving the confines of the CBS studio and leading their teams to glory, the Oakland Raiders seem to be setting their goals a little lower. Perhaps more realistic, mind you, but definitely lower. Much, much lower.

According to ESPN's Chris Mortensen (via PFT) Raiders owner Al Davis, supposedly, is a big fan of New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. Seriously? Kevin Gilbride? This is the name you can come up with? Granted, in the efforts of fairness, this is just a report of a name that might be considered -- but Kevin Gilbride?

Gilbride is, perhaps, most famous for the run-and-shoot offense in his days as Houston Oilers offensive coordinator -- when he was punched on the sidelines by Buddy Ryan, father of current Raiders defensive coordinator Rob Ryan -- and going 6-16 as the head coach of the San Diego Chargers during the 1997 and 1998 seasons.

I don't know how many fans will be in the stands on Sunday when the Raiders take on New England, but one person who will be in attendance is NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who earlier this week accepted an invite from the team to take in some Oakland Raiders football.

According to Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune, it's the first time an NFL commissioner has attended a game in Oakland since the team returned to the bay area prior to the 1995 season. I'm guessing they've stayed away because owner Al Davis has tried to sue the league multiple times, and is, generally, crazy. It's a love-hate relationship, mostly hate.

Of course, as McDonald points out, it wasn't Davis who extended the invite, it was actually Amy Trask, who is the Raiders' CEO. So, there you go.

Regardless, Goodell will get to see what has become -- for this week, anyway -- the NFL's second-most dysfunctional franchise in person. I'm sure he's excited.

Oh, and Ben Watson, try not to take part in any playful celebrations this week because the boss is in the house, and he might just come out of his private box to fine you on the field. Everyone, please, be on your best behavior. That includes you, Mr. Davis.