Will Al Davis Let His Coaches Coach in 2010?

There has often been trouble for head coaches bringing their program to Raider Nation. Much of it is blamed on Raider owner Al Davis.

Many in the media say, "He mettles too much and will never get a respected coach to come to Oakland." Warren Sapp has been quoted as saying, "The Raiders will not change for the better until Al Davis doesn't own the team anymore."

Sapp didn't stop there. He said, "Al Davis knows football. It's just '70s and '80s fooball. He's thinking Cliff Branch is outside and Jim Plunkett is dropping back and you can throw it 80 yards down the field—deep ball, deep ball, deep ball."

Sapp even acused Davis of calling plays. He said "One of my teammates said, 'we're going deep on this play.' I said, how do you know? He said 'the phone just rang.'"

Sapp is right that Al Davis does know football. He is a genius and every genius or hero has tragic flaws.

Davis has an addiction to the deep ball. He also has an affinity for big-armed quarterbacks who otherwise can't play.

There is definitely a place for the deep ball, but not all the time. You especially need an accurate quarterback to execute it. Big arms are great, but without accuracy it's an interception waiting to happen.

This is where the Raider head coach comes in. It is his responsibility to save Davis from himself when needed.

The deep ball was a weapon in Raider history, but ball control was very important. All you need to do is look at every Raider Super Bowl team.

How many Super Bowls did the great Daryl Lamonica win?

A Raider head coach better be able to convince Davis to deviate from his ways. If he does so, his job is on the line of if things don't get better.

John Madden won a Super Bowl with the Raiders in 1976. He did that by saving Davis from his tragic flaws. 
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