Lane Kiffin, Mike Shanahan: Both Fired...Miles Apart

Well, the news that's been brewing for eight long months finally came down the pipe. Lane Kiffin was given the heave ho, as they state with cause, trying to justify reasons to terminate him.

A lot of people want to put him in the same class as Mike Shanahan, the only other coach the Raiders have cut loose in the process of a season.

The only major problem is that the situations both clubs are facing are like night and day.

Back then, the L.A. Raiders, circa late '80s, were an interesting rag-tag bunch. You had guys like Bo Jackson, Marcus Allen, no passing game to speak of, and they'd manage near .500 seasons.

What led to Shanahan's departure was his insistence to new ideas, something that doesn't fly with Al Davis.

One of Mike Shanahan's pet peeves was players sitting on their helmets. Another was the general feeling of disorder. Having Shanahan on as coach was like having John Paul Jones sail as captain of the Black Pearl...a bad match.

Kiffin, meanwhile, was plucked from the collegiate ranks, as some believe, because everyone else refused the job. The Raiders, in the meantime, have been playing somewhere between bad and worse.

This season, as is it's right, is hoping rookies can steer the ship in the right direction.

It's only going to make sense that the replacement come from somewhere within the team, and presently in the coaching circles, so that Russell, McFadden, and the rest of the team doesn't get thrown off course.

I could go two ways with this argument, simply because it's simple.

One, the Raiders rally around a new coach, finish 8-8, and miss the playoffs by the skin of their teeth...or two, they implode and wind up a top-five pick again, between two-14 total, or four-12, more likely.

My money is leaning on Ryan taking over the ship.