Raiders owner Al Davis fired his head coach Lane Kiffin this week, confirming long-running rumors the coach would be out by the team's bye week. While Kiffin is now gone, the story will continue.
Kiffin is filing a grievance against the Raiders for the remainder of his pay but it may or may not stop there.
FOX Sports has learned that some close to Kiffin are advising him about the possibility of filing a multi-million-dollar defamation lawsuit against Davis. The suit would be the result of the Tuesday attack in which Davis lobbed several well-placed accusations about Kiffin, calling him a liar and blasting him for what he basically deemed insubordination.
NFL Week 5
Week 5 action
Redskins 23, Eagles 17 -- Recap | Box
Giants 44, Seahawks 6 -- Recap | Box
Titans 13, Ravens 10 -- Recap | Box
Bears 34, Lions 7 -- Box score
Falcons 27, Packers 24 -- Recap | Box
Colts 31, Texans 27 -- Recap | Box
Panthers 34, Chiefs 0 -- Recap | Box
Dolphins 17, Chargers 10 -- Recap | Box
Broncos 16, Bucs 13 -- Recap | Box
Cardinals 41, Bills 17 -- Recap | Box
Cowboys 31, Bengals 22 -- Recap | Box
Patriots 30, 49ers 21 -- Recap | Box
Steelers 26, Jaguars 21 -- Recap | Box
Vikings at Saints -- Preview | Notes
Analysis
- Johnson: 'Wildcat' gives Miami edge
- Glazer: Raiders, Rams dysfunctional
- Marvez: Broncos elite once again
Video
- Buck and Aikman on Redskins
- Albert and Johnston on Giants
Photos
- Week 5's best pictures
- Raiders' coaching carousel
It's just the latest in a long string of sad side stories that has mired the Raiders for years. But this week wasn't just sad for fans of the black and silver but instead painted a sad, sad picture of two franchises in dire need of an emergency face lift.
Soap operas? To put it mildly and that's just based on the things we've heard and read on the surface. Information from things behind the scenes makes both situations even more disappointing.
But which team seems to be in more disarray? Which one has sunk lower? The Raiders used to be a slam dunk but the Rams are now clearly catching up.
Take their firing of Scott Linehan. Sources say that the Rams ownership actually consulted a local PR firm to assist them in handling their decision of whether or not to fire the coach. A local PR firm? After they came to their decision, ownership phoned Linehan at 1 a.m. waking him up from his sleep in order to fire him.
The executives said they felt they needed to end their relationship face-to-face ... at 1 a.m.! When Linehan agreed and went to give them his address in order to meet, they asked if he could get in his car and drive the 30-minute trek to get fired at the hotel the owners were staying in.
The Rams, to put it mildly, are a mess. Word is that team executives Jay Zigmunt and John Shaw will both be out after the year. Personnel-wise their stars are up there in age and then there's the huge question mark with ownership.
But are they worse than the Raiders? This week Oakland put on quite the show. Lane Kiffin is no longer the head coach of the Oakland Raiders but the soap opera that has culminated in his firing is sure to have lasting effects.
The low point of the entire affair was the Raiders attacking other reporters' integrity as well as Davis revealing to the world that Kiffin did not want to draft JaMarcus Russell. Who cares? What did that possibly accomplish other than the to make Russell feel uncomfortable. Yes, Kiffin wanted to sign Jeff Garcia, then draft Calvin Johnson in the first round of last year's draft, then Trent Edwards in the second. However, since that time Kiffin and Russell have become pretty tight. Those close to Russell say the young QB was very fond of his coach and felt the two had made tremendous progress.
Again, all it did was make Russell feel uncomfortable and had zero bearing on the end result. Coach didn't want to draft a player but eventually made him the starter? Happens all the time.
This all happened on the tail end of a couple of weeks that saw each week question whether or not Kiffin would be gone before the bye. Then there was the situation where a Raiders executive got into a heated exchange with a reporter, all captured on camera.
Shame, shame, shame. Although if there is any way to make humor of either affair, how great would it be if Kiffin sued Davis, was awarded a huge settlement and then used some of the bounty to pay Mike Shanahan, John Fox, Bill Callahan, Norv Turner and all other coaches who've ever had a problem with Davis. Now, that would be classic!
Al vs. Lane
The Raiders have the most losses in the NFL since 2002. Looking at their list of coaching casualties, from it's easy to understand why.
