Al Davis Calls Lane Kiffin 'Flat-Out Liar,' Tells Him to 'Get Over' JaMarcus Russell

Great news, Lane Kiffin: when God closes a door, he opens a window. Or something. The second-year Raiders head coach is out of a job, and owner Al Davis has the freakiest press conference in NFL history to show for it. Ah, to be a Raiders fan.

To the madness: some choice bits from Davis' surprisingly coherent but still extraordinarily bizarre presser (click that handsome mug above for the moving-pictures proof).

"Maybe I didn't want to admit that I made a mistake ... to be quite frank with you, I'm firing him for cause now, I'm not firing him for anything else other than cause. ...

I reached a point where I felt the whole staff, we were fractionalized ... that the best thing to do ... was to make a change. It hurts because I picked the guy. I picked the wrong guy. This is regretful, but I thought it was best for the Raiders. And I wanted to make it work, because I want the Raiders to do great. Someone said to me the other day, a newspaper man, 'Why don't you tell us your side of the story? Why don't you tell us what's happening?' And I said to him, look, I don't want to win in the press, I want to win on the field"

Um, obviously? Of course, Davis then proceeded to ignore himself and try to win in the press. Or, at the very least, malign Kiffin in such a way that he comes off looking like a guy who's fresh off running a bed and breakfast. Davis read from a letter he had given Kiffin prior to the Week 3 Chiefs game that included this nugget of awesomeness:

"Over the past months you have made a number of public statements that were highly critical and designed to embarrass and discredit the organization its players and coaches. I left you alone during training camp, the implication when you were doing these things, in the hopes you would cease your immature and destructive campaign. I wanted to make this work. ...

Your actions are those of a coach looking to make excuses for not winning, rather than of a coach focused on winning. "

Davis also encouraged Kiffin to "get over" the drafting of JaMarcus Russell, a player the Raiders owner alleges Kiffin didn't want, and referred to Kiffin as a "flat-out liar" multiple liar.

It was all great fun for those of us who aren't Raiders supporters, but for an organization mired in futility since Bill Callahan took Jon Gruden's team to the Super Bowl in 2002, things don't look to improve anytime soon.

So, Tom Cable, best of luck, dude. (Keep that CV updated!)

Latest NFL Photos

ALAMEDA, CA - SEPTEMBER 30: Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis speaks during a press conference to announce the firing of head coach Lane Kiffin of the Oakland Raiders at thier training facility on Septemer 30, 2008 in Alameda, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Al Davis

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Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis reads a letter he wrote to former Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin during a news conference at Raiders headquarters in Alameda, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008. The Raiders Kiffin on Tuesday just four games into his second season with the football team. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis speaks during a news conference at Raiders headquarters in Alameda, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008. The Raiders fired head coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday just four games into his second season with the football team. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

Oakland Raiders new interim head coach Tom Cable, left, and owner Al Davis, right, smile during a news conference at Raiders headquarters in Alameda, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008. The Raiders fired head coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday just four games into his second season.(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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Oakland Raiders new interim head coach Tom Cable, left, and owner Al Davis, right, listen during a news conference at Raiders headquarters in Alameda, Calif., Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008. The Raiders fired head coach Lane Kiffin on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2008, just four games into his second season. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)

9-30-2008 @ 8:43PM

fdnylvr said...

al davis needs to back away from the raider team take a back seat and let someone run the team the way it should be the raiders have the talent and al davis should see that maybe its him not the coach!!

10-01-2008 @ 3:07PM

Gary said...

I wonder if Davis fired Kiffin because he finally realized that the name Lane Kiffin sounds morbidly close to "Lay In Coffin"?
Seriously...I've seen exhumed corpses that look better than this guy........

9-30-2008 @ 8:54PM

Jayo said...

I could care less about the Raiders but "fdnylvr" is right ! Al Davis needs to sit his ass down somewhere or go play shuffleboard or something; Oh well... Hail to the Redskins !!

10-01-2008 @ 8:36AM

highonhendrix said...

Ol' Al should never have hired Kiffin in the first place. He has zero experience at the NFL level and zero as a head coach. You hire a COLLEGE off. coord. to run your NFL team? C'mon. That being said, I feel for the guy now. How would you like it if your zany walking-corpse-type boss tried to defame you on national television?

9-30-2008 @ 10:19PM

Lakergregg said...

Way to go Al, fire a guy on Rosh Hashanah.
Like its not hard enough to be Jewish, we gotta explain Al Davis and Donald Sterling, they're best friends of course.
Al said Lane Kiffin wasn't the guy he hired, maybe he assumed he hired Monty Kiffin or was it Diane Lane?

9-30-2008 @ 9:02PM

Wally said...

Al Davis just is trying to build a case so as to not have to pay his legal binding contract to Lane Kiffin.

9-30-2008 @ 10:20PM

Martin said...

Al Davis is half right. There is someone embarrassing the Raider organization. But it isn't Kiffin. Al Davis should look in the mirror to find the culprit.

10-01-2008 @ 6:10PM

KAY said...

You are absolutely right! Al Davis is a big part of the problem. Rob Ryan is the rest of the problem. Al Davis has some attachment to the Defensive coordinator, Rob Ryan, but Rob Ryan isn't wotrh a crap & Lane Kiffin confronted Al Davis about it. The defense is terrible, but Al Davis blamed Lane Kiffin.

I think Lane Kiffin would have been a great coach. Rob Ryan, on the other hand, should have been gone long, long ago...... like Al Davis.........

Paco said...

I'll bet despite all the disfunction in the organization that Granny Davis will have an easier time finding a new coach simply because the Raidas are getting a little better. Still, he didn't let Kiffin do anything, and it'll probably be a JuCo coordinator that ends up getting the job.

9-30-2008 @ 10:12PM

Juan said...

Raider fan: find and destroy the Horcruxes - that's the only way to end Aldermort's reign!

9-30-2008 @ 10:17PM

My bad. I didn't realize a new coach had already been named.

Aldermort...classic!

10-01-2008 @ 8:03AM

jetfan said...

al davis is an idiot.

10-01-2008 @ 8:19AM

Willi Krause said...

Al is just bad news.

10-01-2008 @ 8:17AM

Fed-Up said...

Maybe it's time to stop going to games and buying merchandise. Maybe that will get crazy Al's attention.

10-01-2008 @ 8:30AM

J2talk said...

Good for Al , he was smart to document things they way he did, Kiffin was a piss poor coach.....now if He'll just take a step back and let the new coach coach.....

10-01-2008 @ 9:07AM

Mike said...

Well Al, since you admitted you fired Lane "cause", you better have your check book ready to pay out his final contract. How on earth could anyone coach the team with you breathing down there back. And, you had better hope Russel turns out to be a much better QB than he has shown so far, cause you sure could have drafted a few much better players at that spot. Ever since Gruden and the Bucaneers ripped your azz apart in the Super Bowl, the Raiders have never recovered yet, and let's not forget about Shanahan in Denver beating you now at a steady rate of embarrasment as well. Your days of any "power" in the NFL have passed you by. These players do not look up to you as Stabler and that gang did. Your 10 years away from improving at all and you will never be around to see the Raiders in the playoffs again. Your the cancer to your own team and I just hope Kiffin lands on another team and beats the hell out of your Raiders, as all else have since you treated them like chit too. Hear that "pop", that's Mcfaddens knee going out. Just another kick in your old azz.

10-01-2008 @ 11:14AM

Robert said...

Al Davis set Kiffin up so that he wouldn't have to pay him for his last year. What a fool. I can hear the hoof beats of the thundering herd of attorneys running to Lane Kiffin's door begging to represent him.
Al, just write the check.

10-01-2008 @ 11:18AM

Kevin said...

I think it would be best for the team as a whole, and would serve Al Davis right, if no qualified coach would work for him. I feel every coach out there should let this team know not to call , unless Mr. Davis has divested himself of this team. I also think that Mr. Kiffin should call his attorney and begin seaking legal action against the team.

10-01-2008 @ 11:17AM

Hubert said...

Al Davis needs to be put.......somewhere. A coach every 2 years??
The Raiders will never win again as long as Davis is around.

10-01-2008 @ 11:22AM

Bob said...

Kiffin disagreed with Davis on a few issues so Davis fires him "for cause". (because after 6 coaches in 7 years he can't afford to keep paying people who no longer coach for him) I guess he figured he was saving $3.5 million that way. Then, he defames and slanders Kiffin on national television. If I were Kiffin I'd forget the $3.5 million left in salary and file a $25 million defamation lawsuit. No coach has ever been fired or replaced in this manner. Davis is an egomaniacal dumbass who cripples and embarasses his organization every time he opens his mouth. He needs to ride his medical scooter into the sunset.