Post by TheShadow on Dec 9, 2003 20:06:51 GMT -5
www.oaklandtribune.com
by Art Spander
ALAMEDA -- And so it was another Monday after another Sunday, with Bill Callahan acting about as mature and agreeable as possible for a losing coach in employment of Al Davis.
No references this time to the "d" word, because, hey, that was last week's news. Many of those ambulance chasers who came to Raider HQ eight days earlier to sift through what they thought were the ruins of Bill Callahan's career apparently found better things to do, like eating lunch.
The Raiders, 3-10 and a real possibility to end up 3-13, nearly have become irrelevant. Unless you work for them, which at the moment Callahan does, leading to a question that is quite relevant: for how much longer?
The thinking is Callahan will be replaced at the end of the season, but who really knows, except for Davis, a fount of unpredictability. Except when it comes to wins and losses, because there's doubt where Al stands on that issue, baby.
Callahan had his run-in with Charles Woodson, and Callahan was, shall we say, indelicate when he called his team's play the "dumbest," but many of the problems this year, the aging players, the inordinate number of injuries, were beyond any coach's control.
You lose John Parella and Rich Gannon and Lincoln Kennedy, and you lose games. And maybe indeed there was a hangover from the Super Bowl, despite all comments to the contrary.
As Don Banks of SI.com wrote, "Before they run Callahan out of town, the Raiders would be wise to evaluate this lost season as a whole. Does one rocky season, weighed against the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance in 19 years, equal a firing offense?
"And how many head coaches, dealt Callahan's hand this year in terms of injuries, underachieving veterans and off-field distractions -- the Bill Romanowski sucker punch, the Charles Woodson midseason rip-job interview, the THG steroid scandal -- would have sailed through without a little gloss removed from their Super Bowl sheen?"
If Callahan is without his gloss, he still has his class. There was even a bit of a smile and some gallows humor Monday in discussing the 27-7 loss to Pittsburgh the day earlier.
He'd been through something like this agony before, when Callahan was offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois -- "either in 1988 or'89, I can't remember back that far now." It was in'89, and a short while later the school dropped football, a method to escape the jackals, but one not allowed the Raiders.
"Here we're in a different mode coming off a Super Bowl," said Callahan, not trying to compare oranges and kumquats, "and coming off a year when expectations are high, when you're given a team that had for the most part veteran guys with the expectation of repeating."
Callahan doesn't act like a short-timer, or more important, like a jerk. The old line is we learn more from our defeats than our victories, which means this season should have been very educational, although Callahan won't deal in specifics.
"I've learned quite a bit going through this experience," said Callahan, "and it's been a tough road because of the expectation level being so high. I don't want to get philosophical, but I've grown through this, and I'll continue to grow."
Does he grow with the Raiders, for whom he has worked since joining up as Jon Gruden's assistant in 1998, or without them?
Davis in the 40 years he's been in charge of the Raiders, only twice has gone outside the organization to hire a coach, Mike Shanahan, in'88, and Gruden in'98, and both couldn't get along with Al for more than a few minutes.
Given that precedent, Davis, should he dismiss Callahan, likely would stay in-house for a replacement, one of Callahan's staff. Take your pick. Al's pick could very well be to retain Callahan.
"I have a positive frame of mind every week," said Callahan. "I go into the game plan very upbeat, very positive, go into the meetings and sell the plan we're going to utilize. I thought (Sunday's) plan was very effective."
The Raiders, however, made a key turnover, couldn't move the ball themselves when they got a couple of Pittsburgh turnovers, gave up a gimmee touchdown, were on defense most of the second half and lost, again.
"It's been a year where, good, bad or indifferent, there has been a learning experience that will get us into the next game plan or into the next experience in our careers," Callahan said.
Interpret that remark any way you choose. Coaches talk that way, whether the subject is their lives or their football.
by Art Spander
ALAMEDA -- And so it was another Monday after another Sunday, with Bill Callahan acting about as mature and agreeable as possible for a losing coach in employment of Al Davis.
No references this time to the "d" word, because, hey, that was last week's news. Many of those ambulance chasers who came to Raider HQ eight days earlier to sift through what they thought were the ruins of Bill Callahan's career apparently found better things to do, like eating lunch.
The Raiders, 3-10 and a real possibility to end up 3-13, nearly have become irrelevant. Unless you work for them, which at the moment Callahan does, leading to a question that is quite relevant: for how much longer?
The thinking is Callahan will be replaced at the end of the season, but who really knows, except for Davis, a fount of unpredictability. Except when it comes to wins and losses, because there's doubt where Al stands on that issue, baby.
Callahan had his run-in with Charles Woodson, and Callahan was, shall we say, indelicate when he called his team's play the "dumbest," but many of the problems this year, the aging players, the inordinate number of injuries, were beyond any coach's control.
You lose John Parella and Rich Gannon and Lincoln Kennedy, and you lose games. And maybe indeed there was a hangover from the Super Bowl, despite all comments to the contrary.
As Don Banks of SI.com wrote, "Before they run Callahan out of town, the Raiders would be wise to evaluate this lost season as a whole. Does one rocky season, weighed against the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance in 19 years, equal a firing offense?
"And how many head coaches, dealt Callahan's hand this year in terms of injuries, underachieving veterans and off-field distractions -- the Bill Romanowski sucker punch, the Charles Woodson midseason rip-job interview, the THG steroid scandal -- would have sailed through without a little gloss removed from their Super Bowl sheen?"
If Callahan is without his gloss, he still has his class. There was even a bit of a smile and some gallows humor Monday in discussing the 27-7 loss to Pittsburgh the day earlier.
He'd been through something like this agony before, when Callahan was offensive coordinator at Southern Illinois -- "either in 1988 or'89, I can't remember back that far now." It was in'89, and a short while later the school dropped football, a method to escape the jackals, but one not allowed the Raiders.
"Here we're in a different mode coming off a Super Bowl," said Callahan, not trying to compare oranges and kumquats, "and coming off a year when expectations are high, when you're given a team that had for the most part veteran guys with the expectation of repeating."
Callahan doesn't act like a short-timer, or more important, like a jerk. The old line is we learn more from our defeats than our victories, which means this season should have been very educational, although Callahan won't deal in specifics.
"I've learned quite a bit going through this experience," said Callahan, "and it's been a tough road because of the expectation level being so high. I don't want to get philosophical, but I've grown through this, and I'll continue to grow."
Does he grow with the Raiders, for whom he has worked since joining up as Jon Gruden's assistant in 1998, or without them?
Davis in the 40 years he's been in charge of the Raiders, only twice has gone outside the organization to hire a coach, Mike Shanahan, in'88, and Gruden in'98, and both couldn't get along with Al for more than a few minutes.
Given that precedent, Davis, should he dismiss Callahan, likely would stay in-house for a replacement, one of Callahan's staff. Take your pick. Al's pick could very well be to retain Callahan.
"I have a positive frame of mind every week," said Callahan. "I go into the game plan very upbeat, very positive, go into the meetings and sell the plan we're going to utilize. I thought (Sunday's) plan was very effective."
The Raiders, however, made a key turnover, couldn't move the ball themselves when they got a couple of Pittsburgh turnovers, gave up a gimmee touchdown, were on defense most of the second half and lost, again.
"It's been a year where, good, bad or indifferent, there has been a learning experience that will get us into the next game plan or into the next experience in our careers," Callahan said.
Interpret that remark any way you choose. Coaches talk that way, whether the subject is their lives or their football.