Firing a coach: rallying point, or the slide to chaos?

One thing that stands out in a lot of people's minds, is that when Kiffin was fired, the whole team is going to collapse.

The only problem with this figure, is that there's not basis to run off of.

The only other coach to be fired in a season, Mike Shanahan, occurred after a 1-3 start, and by Al Davis's statement, was ruining the team.

In that case, a still-relatively young Art Shell took over the reins, took the team to an 8-8 finish, one game short of the playoffs.

Not exactly what anyone would call a horrible finish, considering what they started at.

Kiffin, on the other hand, was trying to work with bits and pieces left over from Art's last disaster in 2006, a 2-14 season, and had done a lot of repair work. He got a first overall pick with JaMarcus Russell, and then last year a game breaker in Darren McFadden.

Also to mention, is the Coach taking over, is well-known on the team, as he was the Offensive Line Coach.

So how does this pare out for the team?

Well, for one, the coach isn't going to be playing. The same players will be running, throwing, and tackling, regardless of who has the whistle.

And two, maybe if Kiffin is gone, Cable and Ryan can work together, instead of polarizing in light of the recent feuds.

The last two games, we had our opponents on the ropes. Both times, the defense went stupid, playing a prevent that a high school team could score on.

Maybe firing Kiffin, will also serve as a wakeup call, that if Ryan doesn't clean up his act....he'll be gone too.

Don't sell the Raiders' short, this year. after all, I was counting on Oakland to go 2-2 the first four.

And by anyone's imagination, the Chargers aren't 4-0....they're only 2-2.