Al Davis loves wide receivers who run like the wind, and coaches who know how to listen. He's done well with the combination over the years, even as the game changed and largely passed him by.
But old habits are hard to break, which is why Javon Walker was given a $55 million contract even after being cast off by the Denver Broncos. It's the same reason Lane Kiffin was plucked from obscurity as an offensive coordinator at USC and made head coach of the Oakland Raiders at the tender age of 31.
"You don't have to be old to be great," Davis said at the time. "You have to be good."
Kiffin has been more good than great during his short tenure in the NFL, leading the Raiders to four wins last year and a 1-1 record going into Sunday's game at Buffalo. He's won some praise for improving a bad team in a number of areas, though a season-opening thumping at the hands of the rival Broncos revealed much work remains to be done.
Unfortunately for Kiffin, he likely won't be around to do it. And that's largely because he never figured out the one thing every Raiders coach needed to know right after learning how to say "Just win, baby."
And that is: In Oakland, there is only one boss.
Jon Gruden understood that after a few years and left an awfully good Raider team for Tampa Bay. Mike Shanahan finally did, too, but only after the boss gave him the boot when he wouldn't listen.
The boss is 79 now and gets around with a walker, but he still has a firm grip on a team he himself once coached in the 60's. Though he's seldom seen and seldom heard anymore, his history is such that it doesn't take a Kremlinologist or tea leaf reader to figure out his next move.
In this case it likely will be getting rid of Kiffin - and soon.
Davis already tried it once, sending Kiffin a letter of resignation to sign at the end of his first season. That came after Kiffin tried to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, only to find out that Davis liked Ryan - liked him a lot.
He still likes him, which led to a bizarre exchange with reporters after Jay Cutler picked apart the Raiders in the Denver game and Kiffin basically washed his hands of any responsibility for his team's defense.
"I'm the head coach. I oversee everything and I control what I can control," he said. "Do I have the exact belief (in what) we do on defense? No, but it's hard to have the exact belief that we do. So, it is what it is."
Kiffin went on to pretty much say Ryan and Davis were in constant communication and worked behind his back, while the owner wouldn't even give him the time of day.
