Raiders to dig up Fassel? Coach might fit just fine

After hearing that Jim Fassel was interested in the head coaching job of the Oakland Raiders, I immediately thought: When did Fassel turn to mind-altering drugs?

The Raiders? Wha? Wha?

Who'd want that job?

"You can make it work," Fassel told me in an interview this week about coaching under Al Davis. "You can absolutely make it work. It's not the bad situation that people make it out to be."

Who would want to coach the Raiders? Jim Fassel, evidently. (Getty Images)

Really? You can't be serious.

"I coached there," said Fassel, who was quarterbacks coach in 1995. "Al never interfered with me once. Not once. He'd call me and say a few things but I was always very comfortable with Al."

You're not saying that just to suck up to him?

"No," said Fassel. "It's the truth."

And you know what? I believe him. I've known Fassel for years, all the way back to his days with the New York Giants. He was never a bull---- artist. Fassel has also told me before -- several times -- how well he got along with Davis when he was a Raiders assistant.

Fassel was also a better head coach than people give him credit for. His ability to motivate players wasn't bad either. His rant during the 2000 season remains one of the better ones of all time. When the team was struggling, in midseason, Fassel guaranteed the Giants would make the playoffs. They went on to the Super Bowl.

Fassel made mistakes as Giants coach, but in this offseason where there might be a half-dozen vacancies (minimum), Fassel's name will be in the mix. If he doesn't end up in Oakland, don't be surprised if he's the coach in St. Louis or even Kansas City next season. He was a finalist for the Washington Redskins last year.

This might shock you, but I agree with Fassel on his belief the right person can succeed in Oakland despite the owner's penchant for meddling. In fact, Fassel and Oakland might be a perfect fit.

(Did you just spit out your diet soda?)

It might never happen of course. Fassel could end up coaching elsewhere or he could return to the radio booth, where he now serves as an analyst. Some will also say that Fassel is speaking solely to kiss some serious Davis buttocks. Maybe that's true, maybe it's not.

The (non-ass kissing) bottom line is that Fassel might be the one coach who can handle the dysfunctional Raiders.

Solving quantum mechanics is easier than fixing the Raiders, but this is why Fassel could work there: He has thick skin. He doesn't care if Davis calls and asks, "Why'd you run the ball on third-and-12?" Fassel would let Davis make his queries and voice his opinions and it wouldn't bother Fassel one bit.

Fassel and Davis would get along, and it's been some time since Davis has gotten along with any head coach.

Please don't misunderstand. Fassel's not a lap dog, he's not a sucker, but his temperament is perfect for the Raiders or any other situation where there's a strong general manager or owner, because his ego is healthy though not planet-sized.

The Raiders are downplaying any significance to the ESPN report that Fassel sent a letter to the Raiders expressing interest. "Mr. Davis receives correspondences on a regular basis, be it phone calls, letters, whatever, from prominent people throughout the football world," Raiders senior executive John Herrera told the San Jose Mercury News. "That's normal in the course of business in the NFL."

Herrera added: "Mr. Davis' focus is on his team scoring more points and winning more football games. He knows Jim Fassel quite well and doesn't need an introductory letter from him."

When I asked Fassel about the letter, he stated something similar but you'd have to be foolish not to believe that Fassel sent the query to Davis. Of course he did. But so what?

The current coach of the Raiders, Mr. Interim, Tom Cable, said he wasn't concerned about Fassel's interest but does want the interim tag removed from his title. "If I can get this team turned around, absolutely." Cable said. "This is my opportunity to manage this team and try and turn it around for whatever happens. It says interim before my name, so I don't worry about that (speculation)."

I get the feeling "interim" is going to be replaced with "fired" in just a few weeks.

Are the Raiders a lost cause as long as Davis is the owner? That's the general consensus, but that was also the feeling before Davis hired Jon Gruden. Gruden turned the franchise around and Davis was still meddling.

When I spoke to Fassel he was returning from Manhattan and the World Trade Center Tribute Center where his foundation, dedicated to raising funds for first responders and Sept. 11 charities, had just announced it was distributing $250,000 to those who still remain affected by the attacks all these years later. In all, Fassel's foundation has raised $1 million for 9-11 families.

He still spends a great deal of time in the New York area, despite living in Arizona. Could he be spending time in Oakland soon as well?

When looking at some of the Raiders' recent hires you can ask the question: Why not Fassel? He couldn't do any worse.

In fact, he just might shock the hell out of some people.