Randy Hanson's previous NFL coaching experience includes stops with the Minnesota Vikings (2003-05) and St. Louis Rams (2007). He joined the Raiders' staff in 2007. While the fight with head coach Tom Cable has garnered the most publicity, Hanson's volatile personality has caused him to veer off course with the previous Raiders' coaching regime. He has been described as a tireless worker and a player favorite by some, a snitch by others. One former Raiders employee who worked with Hanson characterized him as a coaching assistant "who thinks he knows everything, all the time."
Hanson -- who has long been viewed and often resented by members of the Raiders' staff as a "set of eyes and ears" for owner Al Davis the past three seasons, according to several Oakland insiders -- was suspended by former coach Lane Kiffin last September for insubordination.
Kiffin ordered the five-day suspension after Hanson accused him of not having the team prepared defensively following last season's 41-14 Week 1 home loss to division rival Denver and then-coach Mike Shanahan.
"It's a good thing that Shanahan didn't have our players," Hanson reportedly blurted out in the presence of other coaches, "or else he would have beaten us 1,000-0."
But the Hanson suspension -- which was ordered without Davis' knowledge -- opened another rift within the Raiders' already fractured coaching staff. Kiffin and former defensive coordinator Rob Ryan were openly battling over defensive philosophy. Before the Denver loss, Davis already was compiling a dossier to document reasons to dismiss Kiffin. The Hanson incident was added to the report.
Davis intervened to keep Hanson on staff, and defensive coaches on the staff rallied behind Hanson as well. When Davis fired Kiffin on Oct. 1, 2008, he cited the Hanson incident as one of the myriad of reasons for Kiffin's dismissal.
Other than Cable and Brown, Hanson is the lone member of the 2008 Raiders staff to be retained for the '09 season.
Prior to the Aug. 5 altercation, Raiders players had grown to depend on Hanson as the coach who "cuts" or edits opponent game film for personal study. But Hanson has not been around players or the Raiders facility since the training camp scrap, although there have been reports of players consulting him privately.
"He's a hard worker," free safety Hiram Eugene described Hanson in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle. "He may be misconstrued how he takes things, but he's an overall good guy."
