jatfly
12-16-2008, 09:03 AM
I snagged the transcripts from another site since I missed the whole interview but check it out....
SIRIUS Host, Pat Kirwan:
"What do the Raiders have to do? We have a lot of Raider listeners who want to hear what Tim Brown thinks has to get done there."
Tim Brown: "Obviously, it would be great to see these guys play with some heart and some passion the rest of the year and finish out the year on a good note but quickly in the off-season Mr. Davis has to make a decision on Coach Cable and I just don't believe that he's going to be able to keep that position as head coach there. So he has to find a head coach, number one, but soon after that they're going to have to do more than just bring in a head coach. I think they have to, what I'm saying is whether they bring me back in some kind of partial consultant role or Jim Plunkett or one of the Raider greats that people respect and know that it is not just going to be a figurehead position, that this guy is going to come in and try and do something. I'm not talking about a GM role or anything like that. I'm just talking about something that the fans understand that they're trying to do something here in a different manner. I think if they do that the Raider fans will understand that Mr. Davis is trying. Now, is he ever going to give up the reigns? That's not going to happen. It's absolutely not going to happen. So he needs to have a buffer between himself and the head coach, someone that can get the message over to the both of them without it being an issue."
SIRIUS host, Tim Ryan: "You've known Mr. Davis for a long time, since '88. Can a dominant personality head coach survive over in Alameda in that building?"
Tim Brown: "I believe so. [Jon] Gruden did it for four years and he did it quite well. There may have been clashes but if there were we didn't see them or hear of them so as far as we were concerned we knew - especially I knew because I had been there since '88 - that he was being able to do some of the things that he wanted to do. Some of the players he was bringing in, some of the plays that were being called. I had been there for 11 years before Gruden got there and we had had four of five different coaches but the offense never changed. We had the same offense. It was always the same offense no matter what happened, no matter who the coach was. Whoever comes in there, they can't - I think what happens is people use Al Davis as a crutch where they can always fall back and say, 'Oh, well, he wouldn't let me do this.' Man, get in there and man up and pound your chest and do what you have to do. And I think if you do that and you know what you're talking about he's going to give you a chance to do it. He did it for Gruden. The players loved Gruden. The offense got better, the whole team got better and we started to become one of the better teams in the NFL. But you can't go in there with your head down asking, 'Mr. Davis, you mind if I...," you know? You've got to go in there like a man and know what you're talking about and tell him what you're going to do. And he will - it's not going to come easy, he's going to fight you on every hand - but he will eventually allow you to have some say so."
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Pat Kirwan: "Give me a profile of a guy who could coach this team if you were the guy as the layer of insulation between Al and the coach. Are you thinking a veteran guy? Are you thinking a young, tenacious guy? What kind of guy would you like to see in there if you were in this mix?"
Tim Brown: "I don't want it to be a new coach. I know that was Gruden. He was a new coach, hadn't been a head coach or whatever. But I think at this particular point it has to be someone who is very established- unless it is some hot coordinator out there that has been a coordinator most of his career and [is] a guy who is ready for a head coaching job. But I don't think it can be a young coordinator guy like [Lane] Kiffin was, Kiffin coming from college. I think you have to get an established coach in there at this particular point, someone who can say, 'This is what I've done. This is my track record. This is what I've done in the NFL so you guys get with me here and we can get some things done.' I think you've got to have a guy like that and if they can get that guy I think they have a very good shot because they have talent on the team, that's not the problem. They have some guys. They're a little lacking at the receiver position and a couple of other spots but I think they have enough talent, especially the way the AFC West is right now, they could certainly challenge."
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On Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell:
Tim Brown: "I just feel, coming from the offense that he came from - the play action type, pat the ball five times and then throw it deep in college - it doesn't really fit up with a timing offense in the NFL. And they tried to help him out by doing some of the same things but eventually you can't make a living on play action. You have to be able to drop back three steps, five steps, seven steps, pat the ball once and get the ball out on timing. That's the only way you're going to end up having an effective offense. You look around the league at guys who are playing good offensive ball, they're not doing it just off play action. They're able to mix it up and keep defenses guessing what's going on. That being said, to answer your question, I really think his development is still a couple of years away. I don't see this guy being the quarterback they want him to be until late year three, maybe into year four. I don't want to say [never] because it would be a whole lot of money going down the drain. It's a shame when you talk about someone as a person you have to mention money but that's what the game has come to. It could very well be that the best he probably could be, I believe, is [Daunte] Culpepper and the worst you're looking at Akili Smith. Hopefully he's more like Culpepper than Akili but it all depends on what kind of focus this guy is going to have during the off-season. Obviously, he has the propensity to put on a little weight. He has to be very cognizant of that. He has to be on ball with his game. He needs to get with some of these veteran quarterbacks, Hall of Fame quarterbacks, whether it is Warren Moon, [John] Elway, some of these guys and say, 'Have you guys had a chance to check me out? What do you think? What can I do?' And if a guy makes an effort like that you know he cares, you know he's trying and you're willing to give him a little bit more time. But if he goes and blows up to 300 [pounds] again like they said he did last off-season then you know this guy is not the guy that is going to dedicate himself to learning the position the way he has to."
SIRIUS Host, Pat Kirwan:
"What do the Raiders have to do? We have a lot of Raider listeners who want to hear what Tim Brown thinks has to get done there."
Tim Brown: "Obviously, it would be great to see these guys play with some heart and some passion the rest of the year and finish out the year on a good note but quickly in the off-season Mr. Davis has to make a decision on Coach Cable and I just don't believe that he's going to be able to keep that position as head coach there. So he has to find a head coach, number one, but soon after that they're going to have to do more than just bring in a head coach. I think they have to, what I'm saying is whether they bring me back in some kind of partial consultant role or Jim Plunkett or one of the Raider greats that people respect and know that it is not just going to be a figurehead position, that this guy is going to come in and try and do something. I'm not talking about a GM role or anything like that. I'm just talking about something that the fans understand that they're trying to do something here in a different manner. I think if they do that the Raider fans will understand that Mr. Davis is trying. Now, is he ever going to give up the reigns? That's not going to happen. It's absolutely not going to happen. So he needs to have a buffer between himself and the head coach, someone that can get the message over to the both of them without it being an issue."
SIRIUS host, Tim Ryan: "You've known Mr. Davis for a long time, since '88. Can a dominant personality head coach survive over in Alameda in that building?"
Tim Brown: "I believe so. [Jon] Gruden did it for four years and he did it quite well. There may have been clashes but if there were we didn't see them or hear of them so as far as we were concerned we knew - especially I knew because I had been there since '88 - that he was being able to do some of the things that he wanted to do. Some of the players he was bringing in, some of the plays that were being called. I had been there for 11 years before Gruden got there and we had had four of five different coaches but the offense never changed. We had the same offense. It was always the same offense no matter what happened, no matter who the coach was. Whoever comes in there, they can't - I think what happens is people use Al Davis as a crutch where they can always fall back and say, 'Oh, well, he wouldn't let me do this.' Man, get in there and man up and pound your chest and do what you have to do. And I think if you do that and you know what you're talking about he's going to give you a chance to do it. He did it for Gruden. The players loved Gruden. The offense got better, the whole team got better and we started to become one of the better teams in the NFL. But you can't go in there with your head down asking, 'Mr. Davis, you mind if I...," you know? You've got to go in there like a man and know what you're talking about and tell him what you're going to do. And he will - it's not going to come easy, he's going to fight you on every hand - but he will eventually allow you to have some say so."
****************************
Pat Kirwan: "Give me a profile of a guy who could coach this team if you were the guy as the layer of insulation between Al and the coach. Are you thinking a veteran guy? Are you thinking a young, tenacious guy? What kind of guy would you like to see in there if you were in this mix?"
Tim Brown: "I don't want it to be a new coach. I know that was Gruden. He was a new coach, hadn't been a head coach or whatever. But I think at this particular point it has to be someone who is very established- unless it is some hot coordinator out there that has been a coordinator most of his career and [is] a guy who is ready for a head coaching job. But I don't think it can be a young coordinator guy like [Lane] Kiffin was, Kiffin coming from college. I think you have to get an established coach in there at this particular point, someone who can say, 'This is what I've done. This is my track record. This is what I've done in the NFL so you guys get with me here and we can get some things done.' I think you've got to have a guy like that and if they can get that guy I think they have a very good shot because they have talent on the team, that's not the problem. They have some guys. They're a little lacking at the receiver position and a couple of other spots but I think they have enough talent, especially the way the AFC West is right now, they could certainly challenge."
****************************
On Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell:
Tim Brown: "I just feel, coming from the offense that he came from - the play action type, pat the ball five times and then throw it deep in college - it doesn't really fit up with a timing offense in the NFL. And they tried to help him out by doing some of the same things but eventually you can't make a living on play action. You have to be able to drop back three steps, five steps, seven steps, pat the ball once and get the ball out on timing. That's the only way you're going to end up having an effective offense. You look around the league at guys who are playing good offensive ball, they're not doing it just off play action. They're able to mix it up and keep defenses guessing what's going on. That being said, to answer your question, I really think his development is still a couple of years away. I don't see this guy being the quarterback they want him to be until late year three, maybe into year four. I don't want to say [never] because it would be a whole lot of money going down the drain. It's a shame when you talk about someone as a person you have to mention money but that's what the game has come to. It could very well be that the best he probably could be, I believe, is [Daunte] Culpepper and the worst you're looking at Akili Smith. Hopefully he's more like Culpepper than Akili but it all depends on what kind of focus this guy is going to have during the off-season. Obviously, he has the propensity to put on a little weight. He has to be very cognizant of that. He has to be on ball with his game. He needs to get with some of these veteran quarterbacks, Hall of Fame quarterbacks, whether it is Warren Moon, [John] Elway, some of these guys and say, 'Have you guys had a chance to check me out? What do you think? What can I do?' And if a guy makes an effort like that you know he cares, you know he's trying and you're willing to give him a little bit more time. But if he goes and blows up to 300 [pounds] again like they said he did last off-season then you know this guy is not the guy that is going to dedicate himself to learning the position the way he has to."