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Kiffin moving Raiders in different directionBy John Clayton
ESPN.com
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PHOENIX -- At 31, new Raiders coach Lane Kiffin displayed Tuesday at the NFL owner's meeting that he is astute beyond his age.


Kiffin, talking with the national media for the first time, detailed his hiring by Al Davis.

As it turns out, Kiffin, then the USC offensive coordinator, attended Steve Sarkisian's second job interview with the Raiders. Sarkisian wanted to hire Kiffin as his offensive coordinator, so Davis told him to bring him along. After Sarkisian turned down the chance to get the Raiders job, Davis called Kiffin, who knew exactly what to say in an interview that led to his becoming the league's youngest head coach in the modern era.

"I guess I kinda had the answers to the test," Kiffin said. "I went with Steve on his interview. So I came back two days later and had the answers to the test at that point."

Passing the Al Davis test is one thing. Winning is another thing. Though it's obviously premature in March to predict the Raiders' hopes following a 2-14 season, Kiffin offered a refreshing glimpse at the next two years of Raiders football. Clearly, he's bright. The son of a defensive genius, Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, Lane Kiffin was born to be a coach. As a kid, he'd watch the sidelines more than the field to see how coaches acted and made strategy decisions.



Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Lane Kiffin was an assistant coach at USC for the past six seasons.At USC, he worked six years with a head coach, Pete Carroll, who was always generous with his time and knowledge. Each day, Carroll would give Kiffin insights on what a head coach does in certain situations.

In Oakland, Kiffin is the fresh answer to a stale problem. The Raiders, one of the league's most historically successful franchises, have gone 15-49 in the four seasons since going to the Super Bowl in 2003. They are on their fourth head coach since that Super Bowl XXXVII loss to the Bucs. The fans are frustrated. Davis is frustrated.

Davis wanted change and the young Kiffin fits that bill. With Davis' guidance, Kiffin has started to weed out some players on the roster. He's making changes in strategy. Along the offensive line, for example, Kiffin plans to go to a zone blocking scheme, completely the opposite of Art Shell of a year ago. He changed 16 coaches on the Raiders staff, keeping only five assistants, mostly on defense.

Gone is quarterback Aaron Brooks. On deck is the chance to use the first pick in the draft on LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell or Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn. Kiffin has spent many hours looking at tape of an offense that scored only 12 touchdowns in 16 games last season.

With a $5 million roster bonus due, it was no surprise that Brooks was the first to head out the door.

"I don't know if Dan Marino would have won many games playing in that offense," Kiffin said.

Kiffin presents an impressive new look for the Raiders. He has the face of a television anchor man. He talks in a believable tone. He projects good energy. More importantly for Al Davis, he brings an approach that is completely different than Shell's. Davis hired Shell to go old-school Raiders. For whatever reason, that approach failed miserably. The Raiders went 2-14 and the offense was horrible to watch.

It's been Kiffin's mission to get the know the players and give them a reasonable expectation of what he wants from them. First, Kiffin, not offensive coordinator Gregg Knapp, will be calling the offensive plays. One of Shell's first acts was alienating wide receiver Jerry Porter, who got into a heated argument with Shell in part because he wanted to do his offseason training in Florida. From there things never got much better for Porter, who demanded a trade at the start of training camp. Porter was inactive for the first four games of the season before being suspended for four games by Shell (a suspension that was reduced to two games).


Kiffin has met with Porter three times this offseason and has told him he wants him to be the flanker, the movement receiver who can be an instrumental part of the passing offense. So far Porter has bought into the concept. He withdrew any trade demands, asked for and received Tim Brown's No. 81 and appears to be excited about the offense.

The next move was to add competition to the backfield. Dominic Rhodes will work with LaMont Jordan in the backfield similar to the way Reggie Bush worked with LenDale White for Kiffin at USC. Justin Griffith was brought from Atlanta to compete at fullback. Tony Stewart was signed from Cincinnati to add competition at tight end.

Kiffin is shaking up the offensive line slightly. Barry Sims is a candidate to move back to left tackle, while Robert Gallery, who had a horrible year at that spot last season, will be tried on the right and left sides.



"I saw a player that was not playing to a standard that I would want a player to. But I wasn't there. So I don't know what was told to him. "
Lane Kiffin on watching tape of Randy Moss from last seasonNaturally, the biggest topic Tuesday was Randy Moss, whose name has been linked constantly this offseason to trades that probably won't happen.
Asked about Moss' future, Kiffin said, "I think he will be on our team. I do."

The plan is for Moss to be the split end, lined up on the open side of the field away from the tight end. For the past few years, Moss has floated between flanker and split end and his performance has been extremely inconsistent. He's seemed bored and disinterested at times and has openly talked about being traded.

The day after he was hired, Kiffin said he talked for 15 minutes with Moss and explained the offense and his belief in the split end position. Kiffin said there was no mention of trade by him or by Moss.

"I saw a player who at times made some very talented plays," Kiffin said of his tape evaluation of Moss. "I saw a player that was not playing to a standard that I would want a player to. But I wasn't there. So I don't know what was told to him. I'm not going to make a judgment on that because I wasn't in those meetings. Did they sit down and tell him this is what we need from you or did they allow it to happen?"

Kiffin said Moss had the look of a player who was frustrated.

"With Randy you go all the way back to how exciting he was at Minnesota," Kiffin said. "He was playing fast because it seemed like he was really into it. Whatever it was, it was a different player because of that frustration factor. When someone is frustrated they aren't going to perform at their highest level."

Whether it's Moss or anyone on the Raiders, Kiffin is trying to change the culture that has taken over.

"Things have to change because it hasn't been just one year," Kiffin said. "I know Al Davis realized that. He was hurt by that."


John Clayton is a senior writer for ESPN.com
 
And the Raiders select ...
Kiffin loves Russell, but take praise with grain of salt
Posted: Tuesday March 27, 2007 3:35PM; Updated: Tuesday March 27, 2007 5:07PM


• KING: Kiffin already changing Raiders




PHOENIX -- Oakland Raiders rookie head coach Lane Kiffin admitted Tuesday morning that when he watches LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell play football, he thinks of John Madden.

Well, sort of.

"With JaMarcus, you have someone who's like a video game, I guess,'' said Kiffin, whose table at the AFC head coaches media breakfast was jam-packed with reporters, in no small part because Oakland owns the top pick in next month's NFL Draft. "That's what I tell our guys. Just because he can make all these throws you can make on a video game.''

It figures, doesn't it? At 31, Kiffin is the youngest head coach in the league, so dropping a video-game reference into his scouting report of the strong-armed Russell only makes sense. I'm guessing Kiffin grew up playing some Madden himself. Probably still does.

Listening to Kiffin break down the draft's top two quarterbacks -- Russell and Notre Dame's Brady Quinn -- was pretty interesting and insightful. But take it for what it's worth, because this is lying season in the NFL, and there's very little genuine card-tipping that goes on when it comes to the upper tier of the draft.

Kiffin also made it clear that a big arm alone wasn't the only thing the Raiders are considering.

"There isn't a throw [Russell] can't make properly,'' Kiffin said. "And the throws he can make, I don't know if anybody else can make them. He can go way over there and throw the ball 70 yards back over there. That's real exciting and everything, but how many times does that happen a year? About two in 16 games? That's a scout's dream to have a guy like that, but you have to dig deeper than that because that doesn't happen that much.''

If you wanted to, you could infer the Raiders are inching away from making Russell their guy, believing his arm strength is more of a conversation piece than a vital part of the skill set he'll need in the NFL. But that may be a dangerous assumption to make, given that in the next breath, Kiffin is pouring on the praise for other parts of Russell's game.
He's a unique leader,'' Kiffin said. "He's different (than Quinn). He's not very vocal, but if you watch those (LSU) players around him, he has a special quality. Brady's more an in-their-face leader. JaMarcus, they just follow him. Players follow him because of who he is. As you do more research on him, you see this is a real kid. He's a good-hearted kid. You watch him with little kids, and you watch him around everybody, whether it's the equipment guy or the head coach, and he's just been raised right. You can see the players respond to that.''

Other highlights of Kiffin's draft-related observations:



• On Quinn's strengths: "I love when Brady brings [his team] back. He's best when he's down. He's fun to watch in that situation. When he's down and starts bringing them back. He's been doing that for the past two years. He's a big-time competitor. He's fun. I've had some discussions with him, and he's extremely intelligent. I'm really excited about Brady, and I like him a lot.''

• On the notion Quinn is better prepared to play right away in the NFL, having starred for ex-Patriots offensive coordinator Charlie Weis at Notre Dame: "I don't think it's a fair assessment to say he's more NFL ready. If you watch LSU film, JaMarcus is doing a lot of stuff. He's changing lots of plays, he's audibling to the run game. I think they're both extremely NFL ready.''

• On Russell proving he can play under center in the NFL, rather than in the shotgun formation, as he did much of the time in college: "That was a concern of mine. I wanted to see his workout under center, because he'd been in the gun so much. But he had really improved on it. He definitely had been working on it, getting into his three-step drop.''

• On his impression of Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson: "He seems perfect for the most part. You research him and you can't find a bad thing. When you're talking about the No. 1 pick, you're looking for bad things. You want to find bad things. But you can't find any negatives on the guy. He's got unbelievable character, and with the way he practices, and the way he works in the offseason. I watched him at his workout day, and I swear he didn't even stretch.''

I asked Kiffin if the Raiders knew yet who they're going to select at the top of the draft, or when they hoped to come to an organizational decision (read: Get the word from owner Al Davis)? It could all be subterfuge, but I don't think you can rule out Johnson, Quinn or Russell for Oakland. All three could wind up being the choice, even though Russell appears to be still in the pole position.

"We don't know [yet], but I don't think it's important to know right now,'' Kiffin said. "We're still going to bring some guys in and continue to evaluate them and do more background work on them. We have a good feel for it, but we don't have it nailed right now.''

The draft is still a month and a day away, but Kiffin and the Raiders know this much: If they're going to have any shot of pulling out of their four-year 15-49 tailspin in 2007, they've got to nail this pick.

"It's huge,'' Kiffin said of the franchise-wide importance of a successful No. 1 overall selection. "Not just because of the player, but the pressure that goes onto that player. What he has to deal with. You've got a lot of work besides just the football part of it that goes with it. Every day someone's going to expect you to do something great because of all the money and all the pressure that's on you.''
 
Thank you Stanny.
Interesting nuggets about:
Moss and his outside position
Russell - Quinn And Johnson
Moss and him not playing well on film (Contrast to Art "Schultz" Shell who saw Nuuuuthink!)
Jordan/Rhodes.
Rep to you.
 
Thanks for the info. So who the fuck are we picking now? Haha, this shit gets more confusing eveyday. If Kiffin thinks Quinn and JR are so great than we have to take one of those guys IMO. CJ is the safest pick but a WR isnt exactly going to turn this thing around. Lets hope we make a great choice, thsi is the most important draft i can remember for us, maybe ever.
 
"I don't know if Dan Marino would have won many games playing in that offense," Kiffin said.
Click to expand...

:p :p


That was a pretty good article by Clayton...
 
Stanny said:
He's a unique leader,'' Kiffin said. "He's different (than Quinn). He's not very vocal, but if you watch those (LSU) players around him, he has a special quality. Brady's more an in-their-face leader. JaMarcus, they just follow him. Players follow him because of who he is. As you do more research on him, you see this is a real kid. He's a good-hearted kid. You watch him with little kids, and you watch him around everybody, whether it's the equipment guy or the head coach, and he's just been raised right. You can see the players respond to that.''
Click to expand...

Brilliant comment about Marino in our offense. :D

The above was the part I found most interesting in that in gives some insight into how he views Russell as a leader and a person. He also didn't think he was any less NFL ready than Quinn.

He seems to have the top prospects pretty well sussed as you would expect now if he can use some of his knowledge to get us a gem or two in the later rounds this could be a very good draft for us.
 
Guy seems intelligent and I like the way he broke down the three players. His recruiting experience will pay be dividends for us in scouting talent, understanding a players expectations and or what types of personalities come along with the baggage etc....I'm digging the guy thus far.

What interested me was:

There isn't a throw [Russell] can't make properly,'' Kiffin said. "And the throws he can make, I don't know if anybody else can make them. He can go way over there and throw the ball 70 yards back over there. That's real exciting and everything, but how many times does that happen a year? About two in 16 games? That's a scout's dream to have a guy like that, but you have to dig deeper than that because that doesn't happen that much.''
Click to expand...

The quote above tells me that yeah the kid can do some things that are unbelievable, but would it win football games? He doesn't mention a key word in which I think his approach to this football team is and thats "consistancy." Do you want the Tom Brady who really doesn't "wow" you on the highlight real, yet is consistant on a Sunday basis and doesn't make mistakes, or do you want the Mike Vick who at times can run 80yards for a TD or throw of the back foot for 60 yards yet come up short most of the time?

When talking Quinn, to me it sounds like a guy who plays how he would want a player to play. Shows passion, great competetor, plays best when coming back. But he never states who he prefers or whos better.

If anything, he spoke least of Calvin but stated the guy has NO FLAWS. In my eyes I'm thinking he's trading down and going after CJ. Almost as if he's letting other teams know, hey these two QB's have what it takes so give me a call and basically throwing up a smoke screen. I had read something a few months back that stated Kiffin liked some things that Drew Stanton brought to the table.
 
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It's pretty hard to draw any conclusions from these comments, at least for me.

I'm suprised that we don't see some of these NFL coaches in politics. They can really spin it, can't they?
 
one thing i like about kiff. like jon gruden, hes quotable and has a drawing personality. That will be good for both getting FAs and to put a pos spin on things. and the man is like al davis jr in the fact you cant get him to give anything away.
 
I have to agre with lang, even the mediots that panned the hiring are doing a 180 after speaking with him... Witness this article from Pete Prisco:


Now in the fast Lane, Kiffin's steering like a pro

3708.jpg
March 27, 2007
By Pete Prisco
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Tell Pete your opinion


PHOENIX -- The youngest head coach in the NFL's modern era didn't act like it Tuesday.

Lane Kiffin, in fact, acted like he had been taking part in these AFC coach's breakfasts for years. His circular table was swarmed with media trying to get a listen to what he had to say, trying to see if there were any flaws in his game, anything that might say the new coach of the Oakland Raiders is far from ready for the job in front of him.

The verdict: At 31, he appears more than ready.

img10091909.jpg

Lane Kiffin's working to establish camaraderie with his Raiders like he had at USC. (US Presswire)

Kiffin was polished, poised, candid, entertaining and informative. Despite his age, he seems to have a good feel for this coaching thing, at least on this day.

I'll admit it. I had my doubts about him before Tuesday.

It's not that Kiffin doesn't have the pedigree. He is the son of Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Monte Kiffin, so he grew up around the game. It's just that with seven years of college coaching experience and just two as offensive coordinator at USC, it's easy to wonder how he landed the job in the first place.

His only NFL experience was as the defensive quality control coach for Tom Coughlin on the Jacksonville Jaguars' staff in 2000. I covered that team. Kiffin, who some said was nothing more than a glorified ball boy, barely said a word.

Yet here he was on Tuesday as engaging as any coach sitting on that lawn here at the Arizona Biltmore.

To say he handled himself well would be a grave understatement. His table was two-deep with reporters for two reasons. One is his team owns the top overall pick in next month's draft, which always makes for a lot of attention.

The other is because, well, he's the coach of the Raiders. In recent years, that position has brought new meaning to the word Black Hole, with Kiffin the fifth head coach since 2002.

The Raiders haven't exactly been a media darling, either, their manta: Just Shut Up. So when their coach is made available in this manner, especially a coach most don't know much about, there is going to be curiosity.

As Kiffin answered question after question, most with bright, thought-out answers, he was naturally asked about the enormity of his leap from a college offensive coordinator to coach of the Raiders, and whether it could intimidate him. Kiffin winced at that one.

"It's not intimidating, it's a job," Kiffin said. "I take it one day at a time. I don't see anything intimidating about it."

Any coach that takes the Raiders job understands that getting along -- OK doing what he says -- with owner Al Davis is a must. The joke around the NFL is that Davis, who is here at the meetings, is the team's defensive coordinator, which is why he always hires coaches with offensive backgrounds.

No decision in Oakland is made without Davis getting the final word. That's why the job is viewed as being unattractive in coaching circles and why men like Bob Petrino and Ken Whisenhunt have turned down a chance to coach the Raiders the past two years.

It is, though, one of only 32 NFL head-coaching jobs. When you're 31, how the heck can you possibly say no to that?

"Al's been great," Kiffin said.

He repeated that several times during his session with the media. But Kiffin insists that Davis has given him everything he asked for when he took the job, including free agents and the ability to pick the staff he wanted.

In the next month or so, the tough part will come for Kiffin. He will have to build relationships with his players. With eight players on the current roster that are older than him, it could be a challenge.

Not only that, but he has the combustible Randy Moss to deal with on a daily basis. The word is Moss had some not-so-nice words for Kiffin when he called him shortly after taking the job.

Asked how he would handle Moss, Kiffin was succinct.

"Like everybody else," he said.

Moss has a reputation for sulking when he doesn't get the ball, but Kiffin seemed understanding to it. He cited one game last year where Moss was thrown to just two times.

Maybe he had a right to sulk.

"I saw a player at times who made some very talented plays," Kiffin said. "I also saw a player not playing to the standard I wanted him to play to."

Oakland is coming off a 2-14 season, which is why it has the top pick. Kiffin would offer no hints as to who the team would take on draft day, but he did breakdown Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn and LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell in great detail. The Raiders need a franchise quarterback, and most have Russell heading to them with the first pick.

"We're pursuing all options at this time," Kiffin said. "If we do pick there, we'll pick a guy on offense or defense."

That brought chuckles all around. See, The Kid has a sense of humor, too.

Whoever they draft, that player will be getting a coach who is driven to make him, and the team, better.

Unlike most coaches, Kiffin said he thinks he knows the secret to making players better, and it has nothing to do with drive.

"What motivates them?" he said. "What motivates them is money and winning. Let's be honest, money is more important than winning with a lot of them. So how do you get them more money? You get new contracts, you play well."

That's candor. In a league of coach-speak, that's refreshing. It was also somewhat of a surprise, but Kiffin seems oblivious to the coaching rule of say nothing. That could lead to more scrutiny, but he seems OK with that.

The age issue certainly will bring more eyes. But history shows that it's not always a bad thing. The Raiders had success when they hired a 33-year-old John Madden in 1963. Bill Cowher, who resigned this year as Pittsburgh's coach, was 35 when he took over the Steelers.

To put Kiffin's age in perspective, the last time the Raiders won a Super Bowl he was 8.

"I don't know and I really don't care what that (his age) is going to do," Kiffin said. "Whether there is more focus on it or not has nothing to do with me going to work every day. There are enough things to concern myself with."

If he has the same success on the field that he had Tuesday with the media, the Raiders will be fine.

The Kid was impressive.

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10091908
 
Getting everybody to buy into the system is the first step towards progress, To be frank, I'm kinda tired of all the fuckin bitching and complaing from a few players.

Defense is fine, I know all the defensive players have a tone of respect for Ryan, speaking of which, its a good thing we dont have this problem on defense as we do on offense or I dont think anybody would have taken this job

Porter down, couple more to go

Sapp and Lane go back to his days in Tampa and are said to be pretty close. I know Sapp and Moss are pretty close, lets hope Sapp gets together with Moss and is able to have him buy into the system.

One things for sure, we dont wanna see the same lack of effort and bitching from Moss if they struggle outta the gate or the media will be all over us like fly on shit.

If theres any doubt, or just a tad concern about Moss's attitude

Ya gotta let him go, or he'll tear this whole team apart
 
Doesn't the picture on HB's Priscoe article looks like Kiff is getting "Jeramy Stevened" in the nephews?
 
From Peter "Raider Hater" King at SI.com


PHOENIX -- Very impressive performance by Lane Kiffin this morning at the AFC coaches breakfast here at the NFL meetings. (Each year the AFC coaches meet the press one day, the NFC coaches another. They sit at round tables, eat some fruit or eggs, chug coffee and update the world, usually carefully, about their teams.)

Kiffin, 31, might be the youngest coach in the modern era of the NFL, but sitting across from the Raiders' new leader 50 minutes this morning, I got the distinct impression he's not going to be a pushover for anyone. Not even for Al Davis. And certainly not for Randy Moss.

He tiptoed around a few Moss-related subjects this morning, like how hard he tried last season. He said he had a productive 15-minute conversation with Moss when he took the job, and said the conversation was not the way it was portrayed in some corners of the media -- a contentious talk with Moss saying he didn't want to be with Oakland. He said in a situation in which a player might not be giving his full effort, he'd want a coach to say to him, "Hey, this is what I expect of you,'' instead of yelling at him for loafing. And he thinks he can get Moss to play all-out. If, of course, Moss is Kiffin's problem at all this year.

"Do you think Randy Moss will be on the Raiders this year?'' I asked Kiffin.

"I think he'll be on our team ... '' he said. "As of right now, he's on our roster, and I'm looking forward to working with him.''

Kiffin already has had an impact on the Raiders. Instead of being willing to just inherit the coaching staff as is, Kiffin says 16 of the 21 Raider coaches are new. That's going to be vital to any chance he has. Kiffin will be very interesting to watch. I can't wait to go to Raider camp this summer and see whether the players buy into him.
 
Kiffin sounds like the truth! anybody who can get these assholes to say a nice word about anything that has to do with Oakland is a miracle worker.
 
NFL_Czar's Blog
by: NFL_Czar

Kiffin sounds off on his Raiders
Mar 27, 2007 | 4:32PM |

I report this At Tuesday morning’s AFC coaches’ breakfast at the lush Arizona Biltmore, it was standing room only around 31-year-old Lane Kiffin’s table. The Raiders’ fifth different head coach since 2001 handled the nationwide reporters pretty well. He never got flustered, and even admitted that he snuck into the Raiders’ Alameda facility for his final interview with owner Al Davis “through a back door, so no one would see me. Kind of like the CIA.”

Kiffin said some interesting things. He believes that disgruntled Randy Moss will be a Raider this season and that he is building a good relationship with Jerry Porter, who spent last season in Art Shell’s doghouse. Kiffin said he was even coaching Porter on the practice field last week.



On Moss, Kiffin said that after watching film of how Moss played, or lack of it, last season, he saw “a very talented player who was not playing at the standard I would expect of a player of that stature. He looked to me like he was just a very frustrated player,” Kiffin said.

Sometimes, the youngest NFL head coach said, those are symptoms of a player who is simply highly competitive and totally frustrated by having two passes thrown his way in the course of a game. Moss was frustrated because he knew he couldn’t help the Raiders win under those circumstances.

It was impossible to get an accurate read on whether Kiffin prefers LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell over Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson in the upcoming draft. He compared Russell to a quarterback in a video game. “He can make every throw, just like in the game,” Kiffin said. “But some of those throws, the ones 70 yards across the field, you may make two of them in the course of a season.”

Kiffin admitted that Russell is a quiet leader, very similar to Titans quarterback Vince Young. You can tell, he said, that Russell’s teammates simply gravitate to him and want to be around him. “I saw the same things prior to when we played Texas in the Rose Bowl,” said Kiffin, who used to be USC’s offensive coordinator. “You could sense how much the Texas players wanted to perform and play for Young.”

The intriguing aspect to Oakland owning the first choice in April’s college draft is that Johnson may be the best player in the draft.

“He seems perfect for the most part,” Kiffin said. “When a player is considered for the top spot in the draft, you want to find negatives about the guy. You know all the scouts like him and are saying great things about him. But with Johnson, you can’t find a bad thing about him. His character, his make-up, his commitment to working out, all his off-season work, and well, there are no holes in his game.”

Kiffin compared Johnson a little to former Heisman winner Reggie Bush. They are the kind of players, that if a teammate runs a better 40-yard time, they are ready to race that guy, challenge him.


Who knows if Kiffin can win in Oakland? Nobody has since Bill Callahan took the Raiders to the Super Bowl, where they were torched by former Raiders coach Jon Gruden and Tampa Bay in the big game. He said his father, veteran Bucs defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, told him what guarantees to seek from Davis, and that he was satisfied. He also admitted that some coaches advised him against taking the Raiders’ job.

“But my process happened so quickly, there wasn’t much time to really talk to a lot of people about what they thought I should do,” he said.

Who’s No. 1?

Kiffin said it was too early in the draft process to be saying who should be the first pick, but many league observers believe it will hard for Al Davis to pass on Calvin Johnson. “He’s the kind of can’t-miss player that Al has always coveted,” said a rival club president who knows Davis and also is drafting in the top five. “It’s going to be difficult for Al to take a quarterback when there are no flaws in Johnson. At 6-foot-5, Johnson is not only going to be bigger than all the cornerbacks he goes against, but faster than almost every one of them. He could be impossible to cover.”

“His vertical jump was 43 inches,” said Kiffin, who knows that Johnson will attack the football and use his 235 pounds to muscle the ball away from defenders.

Green and Miami

It may take some time, but the Chiefs believe that Miami will eventually make a trade to acquire veteran Kansas City quarterback Trent Green. Granted, Green may have only a year or two left on his body, but he’s a quarterback who knows Cam Cameron’s offensive inside out and the word out of Florida is that the new head coach doesn’t believe Daunte Culpepper will ever be of any use to the Dolphins.

“We keep hearing that Cam doesn’t like Culpepper,” said a rival GM. “You have to think that Cam will make a move because he has a solid defense and he has a chance to win now with Green.”

Such a trade could put Culpepper on the street. You can bet that the Raiders would have an interest in Culpepper. Oakland definitely has an interest in former Houston quarterback David Carr. “I think he can still play,” Kiffin said. “I was at Fresno State when (Carr) put me into early retirement as a quarterback there. I can remember Coach Tedford telling me I should start thinking about becoming an assistant coach.”

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/NFL_Czar/2007/03/27/Kiffin_sounds_off_on_his_Raiders

The Rival President had to be Tampa Bay. They're the only team in the top that could be considered a rival.
 
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Kiffin a fresh breeze in Raider land

Nancy Gay
Wednesday, March 28, 2007



(03-28) 04:00 PDT Phoenix -- The biggest audition of Lane Kiffin's life came during a furious six-day period in late January, when he quickly transitioned from Steve Sarkisian's running mate to Al Davis' overwhelming choice to coach the Raiders.
Sarkisian, as we know, stayed at USC, where both he and Kiffin were high-ranking offensive assistants under Pete Carroll.

Tuesday, it was Kiffin sitting in the coaching hot seat at the NFL owners' meetings in Phoenix, the hottest interview ticket among several national football writers who, going into the session, were a little skeptical about a 31-year-old with no NFL experience being put in charge of a floundering franchise.

How did the youngest head coach in NFL history present himself?

Like a winner.

He was honest. Candid. Blunt. And magnetic. After 30 minutes, the most hardened NFL writer could see exactly why Davis hired a coach who is younger than many of the players on his team.

Kiffin was peppered with straightforward questions about whom the Raiders will draft with that No. 1 pick -- he isn't saying. And he was quizzed closely about the status of wide receiver Randy Moss, who -- and let's make this perfectly clear once again -- is not on the trading block, nor has he been discussed in talks with the Packers, the Patriots or any other team.

No doubt, Moss' incessant ramblings last season about wanting to get out of Oakland put the rumor mill in overdrive, just as Lance Briggs' proclamation that he's done with the Bears has him being traded everywhere but to the Canadian Football League.
Kiffin confirmed the truth yet again. "I've never had a conversation with Randy, at all, about trading him,'' said Kiffin, who sees Moss in a Raiders uniform this fall.

"I think he'll be on our team. Yeah, I do,'' Kiffin said emphatically.

And what about that rumor that Moss all but told him to take a hike when Kiffin first called to speak to the receiver?

Here is where you got a feel for how Kiffin is approaching his new gig.

"No insults. We had a conversation, probably 15 minutes, got to know him a little bit, talked about our offense, my belief in the position, what that position means to an offense, and that was about the extent of the conversation," Kiffin said.

He took the same approach with Jerry Porter, who was disenfranchised last season after being exiled by former coach Art Shell following a shouting, cursing throw-down clash of personalities during their initial meeting in March 2006.

"I just got to know him. Sat down with him,'' Kiffin said of Porter.

They met three times in Kiffin's office after the coach returned from the Senior Bowl. Porter expressed his frustrations.
Kiffin listened. He understood. His advice to Porter?
"Forget about it. Move on. He needed to, obviously. He caught one pass (in 2006)," Kiffin said. "It was very obvious in dealing with him that we had to start over with him. Last year affected him a lot.
"We had to rebuild him a little bit."

The result? Porter, who didn't attend any non-mandatory Raiders workouts last year, was in Alameda a little more than a week ago, happily working with Kiffin and three other receivers in a loose, wide-receiver minicamp that became more of a bonding session than anything.

Kiffin spoke of taking the same approach with Robert Gallery, the 2004 No. 2 overall draft pick who has been an enormous disappointment. Moved across the line from guard to tackle, Gallery's lack of impact has been a serious problem for the Raiders.
Like Porter, Gallery will be "rebuilt" under Kiffin's watch.

He might end up at right tackle this season, maybe some at left tackle, as well, but Kiffin made it clear he isn't giving up on Gallery.

"Robert's another one that we had to go all the way back, take him back, it's the same thing,'' Kiffin said. " 'Let's talk about last year, let's go through it, Robert. OK, end of the meeting. All right, Robert, it's done. No more talking about it.' ''

Kiffin clearly is using his age, and his enthusiasm, to bridge the gap between the players and coaches. Davis is in his corner on all of this, which doesn't hurt.
Other than offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, Kiffin made a point of targeting young, hungry coaches -- many of them with small-college backgrounds -- when he assembled his staff. That's bucking a trend. No tired, retread assistants wiling away the hours, racking up pension years.

And Kiffin is not hesitant to tell you exactly what he saw of Moss in 2006 during his video evaluation of the once-dominant receiver.

"I saw a player that at times made some talented plays. I saw a player that was not playing to the standard that I would want a player to,'' Kiffin conceded.
He identified frustration in Moss, and understood it. He didn't condemn it.
"You'd go through games where he'd have two balls thrown in his direction in 65 plays and you're behind,'' Kiffin said. "I'm not being critical of the play-calling; that's not what I'm getting at. What I'm getting at was he was frustrated. Sometimes that's not bad. Sometimes if you've got a player who wouldn't be frustrated, you've got to wonder how competitive they are.''

When he was done with his hourlong interview, Kiffin had made an impression. He's competitive. He's hungry.

He knows players want to win, and they want to make money. The two can go hand-in-hand. Nothing wrong in admitting that.

"I want those players to feel me, I want those players to feel how I can help them get better, how I can help them win, how I can help them get more money,'' Kiffin admitted. "Because that's what motivates them in the end. How do they get more money? When they play really good.''

It's a fresh approach. A young approach. And what the heck, it just might work this time.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi f=/chronicle/archive/2007/03/28/SPG6VOT63I1.DTL
 
Ya ever go into a stressful situation, where some wonder if you will fail horribly, and absolutley knock the freakin' ball out of the park? Feels real nice.
Way to go KK.
Anybody remember Shell's comments from the meetings last year?
2007 will be easier if some of these hacks get on the KK train.
 
R4Life said:
From Peter "Raider Hater" King at SI.com


PHOENIX -- Very impressive performance by Lane Kiffin this morning at the AFC coaches breakfast here at the NFL meetings. (Each year the AFC coaches meet the press one day, the NFC coaches another. They sit at round tables, eat some fruit or eggs, chug coffee and update the world, usually carefully, about their teams.)

Kiffin, 31, might be the youngest coach in the modern era of the NFL, but sitting across from the Raiders' new leader 50 minutes this morning, I got the distinct impression he's not going to be a pushover for anyone. Not even for Al Davis. And certainly not for Randy Moss.

He tiptoed around a few Moss-related subjects this morning, like how hard he tried last season. He said he had a productive 15-minute conversation with Moss when he took the job, and said the conversation was not the way it was portrayed in some corners of the media -- a contentious talk with Moss saying he didn't want to be with Oakland. He said in a situation in which a player might not be giving his full effort, he'd want a coach to say to him, "Hey, this is what I expect of you,'' instead of yelling at him for loafing. And he thinks he can get Moss to play all-out. If, of course, Moss is Kiffin's problem at all this year.

"Do you think Randy Moss will be on the Raiders this year?'' I asked Kiffin.

"I think he'll be on our team ... '' he said. "As of right now, he's on our roster, and I'm looking forward to working with him.''

Kiffin already has had an impact on the Raiders. Instead of being willing to just inherit the coaching staff as is, Kiffin says 16 of the 21 Raider coaches are new. That's going to be vital to any chance he has. Kiffin will be very interesting to watch. I can't wait to go to Raider camp this summer and see whether the players buy into him.
Click to expand...

Setting up his "kiffin gets the accolades, davis gets the blame" stance early I see.
 
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