It's Finally Official: Al Davis Shows Lane Kiffin the door

Thanks Al, for firing another good young coach who didn’t have the time, opportunity, or personnel to blossom in Oakland that will surely blossom somewhere else and come back to haunt the Raiders in the future, a la Mike Shanahan.   

This isn’t anything new, some would think you would’ve learned how petty jealousy can come back to bite you when you fired Mike Shanahan and traded Jon Gruden.

Along with a legacy that has led you to be named to the NFL Hall of Fame, there is also the legacy of owners, front-office people, coaches, and players that you’ve run off, rubbed the wrong way, or just stabbed in the back.

That list goes back to your days at the Citadel and USC.

Other team owners have other business ventures besides their football teams, but not Al Davis; he only has the Raiders.

To back up my statement that the game has passed you by Al, I present the 2003 NFL Draft and let the chips land at the spot where they’ve landed.

The fact of the matter is, it is impossible for any coach to put out fires when the owner is running around with a flamethrower telling everyone that he is the one in charge.

It should be blatantly obvious that the days of getting a few free agents to turn your franchise around are long gone. Everyone knows that except you, Al Davis.

The wrong man was fired today, and he was made a scapegoat for your deficiencies. A statement would be that he shouldn't have been hired in the first place if he is being released basically after one year.

Al, you dragged a once-proud franchise into the ground, and this type of lunacy will continue until you get your hands off of the controls and turn the franchise over to someone who cares about the fanbase and wants to win football games.

Al Davis, you’re the person who should be fired. It is blatantly obvious that your act over the last 15 years has tainted a once-great legacy. The game has passed you by, and so too has rational thought and a desire to put a competitive product on the football field.

I would love to see a coup d’état from the new limited partners that provided you the funds, some of which you wasted on Javon Walker.

If I’m not mistaken, this group didn’t have a say so or authority to remove you but that needs to change, immediately, to save you from yourself.

I think it would be great for the NFL Commissioner to step in and remove you from the premises, because your act has been detrimental to not only the Oakland Raiders but the NFL as well.

Can this young team put this latest distraction behind them and move forward? It is now on the veteran players who have been there and have seen this act before to grab them and not let the season get away from them—if it hasn't already.

We will find out, after a bye week, in New Orleans.

The funny thing is, I’m writing this article after leaving my local post office, and as usual, it was a god-awful long line. The person in front of me ushered me ahead of him so he could address his package that was being mailed.

I couldn’t help but notice that his package was addressed to 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway in Alameda. As highly upset fans of the team, we spoke, and I came to find out he was sending his gear back to the team.

He said, and I quote, “I’ve had it with Al Davis and the way he has run this organization into the ground."

"I’ve been a fan since the 1970s and I’m sending back every hat, t-shirt, jersey, sweatshirt, jacket, shorts that I’ve ever bought because I’m no longer supporting the team as long as Al Davis is there.”

I leave you with a question: How does a person respond to that?

There you have it Al, from the voice of a former fan, the Raider Nation has spoken and they want their team back.

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