hawaiianboy
Unfuckupable
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2006
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Admittingly, it's crossed my mind once or a few hundred times...
On another note, Al Saunders, Pat Hill and Ken Whisenhunt seemed to have taken the lead pipe of bad luck across the forehead after being linked to the Raider opening...
---------------
From Jerry Mac's blog:
Nov 04 2006
What if Petrino had said yes?
Posted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on Saturday at 8:12 pm
If you watched Louisville cut West Virginia to pieces Thursday night, you probably thought about it, if only for a moment.
Then maybe you looked at the offensive stats of the Raiders and thought about it a little more.
There’s little doubt that if Bobby Petrino was running the Oakland Raiders, they’d be a better offensive team they they are now. They’d just about have to be.
Petrino is guiding college football’s most explosive offense at Louisville, a diverse attack which has all the passes _ short, medium and deep _ in its repetoire. The Cardinals are also a pretty fair running team, even after losing their top runner, potential first-round pick Michael Bush, for the season.
Take that offensive creativity and transplant it in Oakland, where you’ve got Rob Ryan leading a defense that that is starting to create a bit of a buzz around the NFL.
Take that 2-5, and invert it.
OK, if that’s too ambitious, 4-3 is certainly within the realm of possibility.
Instead of throwing Andrew Walter to an offensive coordinator in Tom Walsh who hasn’t coached in the NFL since 1994 and a quarterbacks coach (Jim McElwain) in his first year in the NFL, you’d have a a coach with previous NFL experience plus several years at the major college level running his own program.
There would be some theories as to how to alleviate pressure, receivers going in motion, and more than a few mismatches in the secondary for the receivers. Hell, Jerry Porter might even get along with Petrino.
It all looks so perfect in retrospect.
But even if the Raiders were marginally better now, you wonder how it might have played out later.
Petrino is used to running his own show. How would he have reacted if Doug Gabriel was suddenly traded out from under him for a fifth-round draft pick?
He’s been a very ambitous coach, a guy always looking for the next job. Lord knows if Louisville plays for the national championship this year, he’s writing his own ticket.
Whether Al Davis wants to remember it or not, Petrino was his first choice. Oh, he distanced himself from it as far as possible when Shell was hired. He layed it all on Mike Lombardi, who not coincidentally seems to have taken a seat behind Sean Jones in the confusing hierchy that is the Raiders front office.
Davis even called him, “Bernard'’ Petrino at the press conference, which may well have been a calculated attempt to make it sound as if he wasn’t really all that serious a candidate.
I thought at the time Petrino was the best candidate and said as much. They’d no doubt have a better record if he was the head coach of the 2006 Raiders. He brought with him the potential of a new start and fresh ideas, similar to the guy Davis hired in 1998.
But looking back on it, Petrino, who fell all over himself denying any contact with the Raiders after the story broke in ANG Newspapers, probably made the right call.
Dealing with Davis is like nothing else in professional sports, and the fact is Shell is the best equipped to do it. Davis’ physical limitations have made it impossible for him to view practice on a daily basis, restricting his involvement watching on film and game days.
Imagine a headstrong coach like Petrino, essentially working with Davis for the first time, having to take suggestions and/or orders from a boss who isn’t even watching practice every day. For Shell, it’s no problem. He’ll even stick up for himself.
One Raider insider told me that there have been instances were ex-players who have Al’s ear call him with suggestions, only to be told by Davis, “Have you got Art’s number? Call Art.'’ In other words, Davis is leaving much of the operation to Shell because he trusts him and because Shell shares his vision.
If Petrino had said yes, it’s not difficult to envision a year in which the Raiders start to turn things around. Ryan’s contract had already been extended, and the defensive talent and system would be the same as it is now.
Soon, the rumors would begin. Plane trips to Ohio State that didn’t exist . . . interest from the top professional jobs, with rich owners offering cash and draft picks . . .
Then the Raiders would be right back where they were before Shell came aboard. They don’t need someone who wants to be the head coach. They need someone who wants to be head coach of the Raiders.
There’s a big difference.
On another note, Al Saunders, Pat Hill and Ken Whisenhunt seemed to have taken the lead pipe of bad luck across the forehead after being linked to the Raider opening...
---------------
From Jerry Mac's blog:
Nov 04 2006
What if Petrino had said yes?
Posted by Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer on Saturday at 8:12 pm
If you watched Louisville cut West Virginia to pieces Thursday night, you probably thought about it, if only for a moment.
Then maybe you looked at the offensive stats of the Raiders and thought about it a little more.
There’s little doubt that if Bobby Petrino was running the Oakland Raiders, they’d be a better offensive team they they are now. They’d just about have to be.
Petrino is guiding college football’s most explosive offense at Louisville, a diverse attack which has all the passes _ short, medium and deep _ in its repetoire. The Cardinals are also a pretty fair running team, even after losing their top runner, potential first-round pick Michael Bush, for the season.
Take that offensive creativity and transplant it in Oakland, where you’ve got Rob Ryan leading a defense that that is starting to create a bit of a buzz around the NFL.
Take that 2-5, and invert it.
OK, if that’s too ambitious, 4-3 is certainly within the realm of possibility.
Instead of throwing Andrew Walter to an offensive coordinator in Tom Walsh who hasn’t coached in the NFL since 1994 and a quarterbacks coach (Jim McElwain) in his first year in the NFL, you’d have a a coach with previous NFL experience plus several years at the major college level running his own program.
There would be some theories as to how to alleviate pressure, receivers going in motion, and more than a few mismatches in the secondary for the receivers. Hell, Jerry Porter might even get along with Petrino.
It all looks so perfect in retrospect.
But even if the Raiders were marginally better now, you wonder how it might have played out later.
Petrino is used to running his own show. How would he have reacted if Doug Gabriel was suddenly traded out from under him for a fifth-round draft pick?
He’s been a very ambitous coach, a guy always looking for the next job. Lord knows if Louisville plays for the national championship this year, he’s writing his own ticket.
Whether Al Davis wants to remember it or not, Petrino was his first choice. Oh, he distanced himself from it as far as possible when Shell was hired. He layed it all on Mike Lombardi, who not coincidentally seems to have taken a seat behind Sean Jones in the confusing hierchy that is the Raiders front office.
Davis even called him, “Bernard'’ Petrino at the press conference, which may well have been a calculated attempt to make it sound as if he wasn’t really all that serious a candidate.
I thought at the time Petrino was the best candidate and said as much. They’d no doubt have a better record if he was the head coach of the 2006 Raiders. He brought with him the potential of a new start and fresh ideas, similar to the guy Davis hired in 1998.
But looking back on it, Petrino, who fell all over himself denying any contact with the Raiders after the story broke in ANG Newspapers, probably made the right call.
Dealing with Davis is like nothing else in professional sports, and the fact is Shell is the best equipped to do it. Davis’ physical limitations have made it impossible for him to view practice on a daily basis, restricting his involvement watching on film and game days.
Imagine a headstrong coach like Petrino, essentially working with Davis for the first time, having to take suggestions and/or orders from a boss who isn’t even watching practice every day. For Shell, it’s no problem. He’ll even stick up for himself.
One Raider insider told me that there have been instances were ex-players who have Al’s ear call him with suggestions, only to be told by Davis, “Have you got Art’s number? Call Art.'’ In other words, Davis is leaving much of the operation to Shell because he trusts him and because Shell shares his vision.
If Petrino had said yes, it’s not difficult to envision a year in which the Raiders start to turn things around. Ryan’s contract had already been extended, and the defensive talent and system would be the same as it is now.
Soon, the rumors would begin. Plane trips to Ohio State that didn’t exist . . . interest from the top professional jobs, with rich owners offering cash and draft picks . . .
Then the Raiders would be right back where they were before Shell came aboard. They don’t need someone who wants to be the head coach. They need someone who wants to be head coach of the Raiders.
There’s a big difference.
p ) but then we don't anyway so I say advantage RAIDERS....
