Take this job ... please! Nobody should want Raiders gig

The only recent coach with anything approaching longevity was Jon Gruden, and he lasted four seasons because he won. Yeah, he annoyed Davis by doing things his way, and, yeah, he didn't care what management thought about how he went about his business. But he won, and that's the Davis credo, right?

But he couldn't stand it there, either, and left for Tampa Bay following the 2001 season. The following year he was in the Super Bowl against the Raiders.

Another head coach, Norv Turner, was fired after two seasons because he couldn't win with Randy Moss and because his teams didn't improve. Basically, though, he was fired because he couldn't coach. At least that's what we were told. We were also told he'd never get another chance.

So he went to San Francisco for one season as the 49ers' offensive coordinator, then returned to head coaching with the San Diego Chargers in a move that was supposed to break up the Bolts.

Turner couldn't coach, remember? Yeah, sure. He took the Chargers to the AFC Championship Game in his first season and, oh, by the way, beat the Raiders twice along the way. He beat them again last weekend.

Like Turner, Lane Kiffin will land on his feet and get another shot at a head-coaching job. Only this time he will have a chance to succeed. He will have the players he wants and the defensive coordinator he wants and the time he needs to get things turned around.

Which is another way of saying: It won't be the Raiders.

I don't know what Lane Kiffin said to Al Davis when the two spoke Tuesday morning, and I don't know that he said much of anything. But I do know what he should have said: Thank you. He's in a far, far better place now than he has been in two years.