Lane Kiffin on Possible Replacements for Drew Carter: 'I Have No Idea'

I feel kind of bad for Lane Kiffin. He seems like a likable guy. Young, full of fire, an NFL Head Coach at the age of 32, he's got a lot going for him. Except for the fact that NFL coaching job just happens to be with the Oakland Raiders. And, well, as long as the long arm of Al Davis is still able to reach out of the owners box and pull the strings his head coach is attached to on the sidelines, he's going to be calling all of the shots. Case in point: The Raiders quest to find a replacement for the injured Drew Carter.

When Kiffin was asked this evening if any of the available free agents (more on this in a second) would be coming in for a tryout with the squad, Kiffin gave a curious reply for someone in his position (Head Coach!): "I have no idea."

Um. Interesting.

Jerry McDonald at the Contra Costa Times throws out the names of Koren Robinson and Joe Horn, and jokingly (I hope) made references to former Raiders Doug Gabriel, Carlos Francis and Johnnie Morant. Obviously those guys aren't coming back, but Robinson and Horn seem like just the type of guys Al Davis would love to bring on board, especially in a time of total desperation. McDonald even quotes Horn's agent as saying he expects to hear from the Raiders.

The idea of bringing in anybody, especially Joe freakin' Horn, is bordering on absurd. I admit, I'm not an NFL scout or a General Manager, so I could be completely off base with this line of thinking, but it just seems silly to even waste the time -- or consider thinking about wasting the time -- on a 35-year old malcontent that hasn't caught 50 passes in a single season since 2004.

Look, the Raiders aren't going anywhere this year anyway. Not with Drew Carter. Not with Joe Horn. Not with Fred Biletnikoff himself coming out of retirement and hauling in passes from Ken Stabler while John Madden draws up plays in the dirt. It's not happening. So why not just roll with the young guys like Johnnie Lee Higgins, or Arman Shields or whoever else the Raiders have floating around camp, and let them get a trial by fire test in the NFL and see what they've got.

What's the worst thing that happens? They lose a few games?