I went off on Jerry Jones yesterday for the way he handled the Dallas Cowboys since taking them over back in the late 80s. It’s interesting to me that in so many ways, the Cowboys have become the Oakland Raiders of the 21st Century.
For years, my favorite team is the Denver Broncos. My second? Whoever the Raiders are >playing. Some players have come and goen from that franchise I like: Mark van Eeghen, Dave Casper, Howie Long, Lester Hayes, Art Shell, Bob Chandler and Gene Upshaw. My appreciation for these Raiders of the past has been offset by one individual.
From the time I first took football seriously back in 1977, I was properly schooled by my father to passionately love the likes of Tom Landry and despise the likes of Al Davis. The Raiders were the anti-Cowboys back then. Oakland was a regular rogue’s gallery of thugs like Jack Tatum, whose nasty hit paralyzed Daryl Stingley, and other loons like John Matuszak. The Raiders were a reflection of their owner, the NFL’s original gangster, Al Davis.
As AFL commissioner, Davis gained his reputation as a swashbuckler, pirating as many player away from the NFL as he could by any means necessary. After returning to the Raiders in the early 70s after the merge, Davis muscled away the franchise to take total control, essentially while Wayne Valley was watching the Munich Olympics. He also had a way of turning on his players. Former Oregon State fullback Bill Enyart had come to the Raiders to convert to linebacker and blew his knee out on a cheap shot in a pre-season game. The team doctor had recently had a heart attack and the physicians who attended Enyart failed to care for the injury and the player’s career was essentially over. After Enyart sued for malpractice, Davis had given orders to the attorneys to tie up the lawsuit as long as possible to make sure Enyart never got a dime. He’s left a string of other casualties in his wake, and it looks like Lane Kiffin is about to become the latest.
I get that, as owner, Davis has the right to run his franchise as he sees fit. I’m also sure that anybody who signs on with Oakland is well aware of how this soap opera plays out. Kiffin had to know it might not last long. Just ask Mike Shanahan.
By the way, thank you Al Davis for your gift to the Broncos. It’s been a sheer pleasure watching “The Master” get the best of you the last several years.
I suppose I should take pity on the old man, but I don’t. Davis has won his Super Bowls, he has given us some of the games greats- like John Madden and Tom Flores. I even allowed myself to root for Darth Vader’s gang when Jim Plunkett led the Silver and Black to a title in 1981. I will give him a begrudging respect for rescuing a number of NFL careers off the scrap heap.
By the same token, how Al Davis has handled Lane Kiffin’s situation as coach has been utterly classless. If you really don’t want him there, spare him the torture and let him move on. I can’t imagine staff meetings are a lot of fun right now with the rift between Kiffin and defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Mr. Davis, if you’re going to keep Kiffin, let him do his job, and have his guys there. This lunacy is doing nothing to improve the fortunes of a team that may actually some potential.
As far as I’m concerned his can go on another 20 years, though “The Genius” will be long gone before then. To me, Al Davis is the embodiment of thuggery in the world of sports, and we can’t be rid of him fast enough as far as I’m concerned.
