moka.the
10-01-2008, 04:52 AM
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
ESPN.com news services
The silver and black came out of Tuesday black and blue.
In an unprecedented news conference, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis
explained the firing of Lane Kiffin in great detail, and the coach
later said he was "embarrassed to watch that."
"I reached a point where I felt that the whole staff were
fractionalized, that the best thing to do to get this thing back was
to make a change," Davis said during the lengthy news conference. "It
hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy."
At one point, Davis read a letter that he sent to his former coach
that detailed mistakes made on and off the field by Kiffin. Davis
finally concluded that he fired the coach for cause because he
"disgraced" the organization, citing everything from conflicts over
personnel moves to outright lies to the media.
"I don't think it was any one thing," Davis said. "It was a cumulative
thing. I think the pattern just disturbed me."
If firing Kiffin for cause is upheld by the league, Davis will not
have to pay the remainder of the coach's salary. Kiffin signed a three-
year deal worth about $6 million when he took over last year. Davis
was asked if he thought he could win that battle.
"I wouldn't do it unless I was going to prevail," Davis said.
Davis said that Kiffin objected to drafting quarterback JaMarcus
Russell and complained about other personnel decisions. The owner
finally told the coach to stop complaining all the time and coach the
team on the field.
Despite the conflicts dating back to last season, Kiffin's first,
Davis didn't fire the coach in the offseason.
"I wanted to make it work, to be real honest," Davis said. "It's my
belief that I would work and it could work. I wanted to make it work.
Maybe I didn't want to admit that I'd made a mistake. And to be quite
frank with you, I'm firing him for cause right now. I'm not firing him
for anything else other than cause."
Dressed in Raider silver-and-black, his face weathered by years of
standing on football sidelines, Davis sat at a podium reading from
notes illuminated by a large desk lamp. He seemed angry at times,
blaming Kiffin for most of the Raider woes, though he also blamed
himself for hiring him in the first place.
"I think he conned me like he conned all you people," Davis said.
Davis denied a report that Kiffin was sent a resignation letter in the
past but refused to sign it. The owner said that Kiffin was
responsible for getting that false claim into the media. That was one
of the examples Davis cited for describing Kiffin as a "flat-out liar"
and a "professional liar" in his sometimes rambling remarks.
Kiffin told ESPN's "SportsCenter" after the news conference that Davis
was presenting only one side of the story. Citing the letter that
Davis put on an overhead projector, Kiffin said: "Just because you put
something on paper doesn't mean it's true."
Kiffin's agent Gary Uberstine had no comment and said he advised his
client not to hold a news conference on Wednesday. Kiffin instead will
make his case directly to the commissioner in a grievance.
Davis was asked if Kiffin was trying to get fired so that he would
receive the remainder of his salary.
"I don't know what he was doing, but he got me to fire him," Davis
said.
Kiffin responded that his passion for coaching and his preparation
belied any premeditated attempt to get fired.
"I think that's a real hard case to make," Kiffin said. "I'm here to
say that there's no way I was trying to get fired."
The Raiders now move on to their fifth coach in seven years. After
taking a break during his news conference, Davis returned and named
Raiders offensive line coach Tom Cable as the interim coach.
Davis had been asked if he felt responsible for the instability in the
organization.
"I bear the responsibility," he said. "It takes a toll on me. It sure
does."
Despite the end, Kiffin said he has "no regrets for taking the job."
"I think it was a very valuable experience and will really help me in
the future," he said.
But the way Davis handled his firing, and the news conference in
particular, left a bad taste in his mouth.
"It was something I wasn't proud of to be associated with and I was
embarrassed for him, to tell you the truth," Kiffin said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
ESPN.com news services
The silver and black came out of Tuesday black and blue.
In an unprecedented news conference, Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis
explained the firing of Lane Kiffin in great detail, and the coach
later said he was "embarrassed to watch that."
"I reached a point where I felt that the whole staff were
fractionalized, that the best thing to do to get this thing back was
to make a change," Davis said during the lengthy news conference. "It
hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy."
At one point, Davis read a letter that he sent to his former coach
that detailed mistakes made on and off the field by Kiffin. Davis
finally concluded that he fired the coach for cause because he
"disgraced" the organization, citing everything from conflicts over
personnel moves to outright lies to the media.
"I don't think it was any one thing," Davis said. "It was a cumulative
thing. I think the pattern just disturbed me."
If firing Kiffin for cause is upheld by the league, Davis will not
have to pay the remainder of the coach's salary. Kiffin signed a three-
year deal worth about $6 million when he took over last year. Davis
was asked if he thought he could win that battle.
"I wouldn't do it unless I was going to prevail," Davis said.
Davis said that Kiffin objected to drafting quarterback JaMarcus
Russell and complained about other personnel decisions. The owner
finally told the coach to stop complaining all the time and coach the
team on the field.
Despite the conflicts dating back to last season, Kiffin's first,
Davis didn't fire the coach in the offseason.
"I wanted to make it work, to be real honest," Davis said. "It's my
belief that I would work and it could work. I wanted to make it work.
Maybe I didn't want to admit that I'd made a mistake. And to be quite
frank with you, I'm firing him for cause right now. I'm not firing him
for anything else other than cause."
Dressed in Raider silver-and-black, his face weathered by years of
standing on football sidelines, Davis sat at a podium reading from
notes illuminated by a large desk lamp. He seemed angry at times,
blaming Kiffin for most of the Raider woes, though he also blamed
himself for hiring him in the first place.
"I think he conned me like he conned all you people," Davis said.
Davis denied a report that Kiffin was sent a resignation letter in the
past but refused to sign it. The owner said that Kiffin was
responsible for getting that false claim into the media. That was one
of the examples Davis cited for describing Kiffin as a "flat-out liar"
and a "professional liar" in his sometimes rambling remarks.
Kiffin told ESPN's "SportsCenter" after the news conference that Davis
was presenting only one side of the story. Citing the letter that
Davis put on an overhead projector, Kiffin said: "Just because you put
something on paper doesn't mean it's true."
Kiffin's agent Gary Uberstine had no comment and said he advised his
client not to hold a news conference on Wednesday. Kiffin instead will
make his case directly to the commissioner in a grievance.
Davis was asked if Kiffin was trying to get fired so that he would
receive the remainder of his salary.
"I don't know what he was doing, but he got me to fire him," Davis
said.
Kiffin responded that his passion for coaching and his preparation
belied any premeditated attempt to get fired.
"I think that's a real hard case to make," Kiffin said. "I'm here to
say that there's no way I was trying to get fired."
The Raiders now move on to their fifth coach in seven years. After
taking a break during his news conference, Davis returned and named
Raiders offensive line coach Tom Cable as the interim coach.
Davis had been asked if he felt responsible for the instability in the
organization.
"I bear the responsibility," he said. "It takes a toll on me. It sure
does."
Despite the end, Kiffin said he has "no regrets for taking the job."
"I think it was a very valuable experience and will really help me in
the future," he said.
But the way Davis handled his firing, and the news conference in
particular, left a bad taste in his mouth.
"It was something I wasn't proud of to be associated with and I was
embarrassed for him, to tell you the truth," Kiffin said.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.