The running joke is an obvious one. Lane Kiffin only took the Raiders' head-coaching job because he was too young to know any better. And, perhaps, it's not much of a joke after all.
For all of the gaudy numbers his offense rolled up at Southern California, keep in mind the amount of talent on that offense. Also, remember that Norm Chow was the coordinator for the back-to-back Trojan national titles, not Kiffin.
Either way, in the end, Kiffin, 31, made the choice that Sean Payton didn't make three years ago. The hopeless Raiders — surprise, surprise — were in the market for a head coach at that time, and they offered the position to a young, hot name: Payton, who was on staff with Bill Parcells and the Cowboys and was a previous NFC Championship coordinator with the Giants. Bet on Super Bowl XLI at WagerWeb.com and receive a 30% bonus!
With a complete understanding of the mess that was the Raiders back then, Payton declined. He waited his turn, went back to the Cowboys, and then took the Saints' job last season. That worked out OK, didn't it?
Meanwhile, the Raiders fumbled through three seasons of retreads, two with Norv Turner, one with Art Shell, and — again surprise, surprise — here they are again with a vacancy.
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Kiffin, though, was the anti-Payton. He jumped right into a franchise that is in total disarray, and while he may be saying all the right things, he's in for a long, winding road.
"I'm extremely confident that I am the right man for the job," Kiffin said. "And I'm very grateful and appreciative and I'm ready to do great things here."
A bit of advice: Don't expect those "great things" next season. The Silver and Black has virtually no offense to speak of, and the defense — which is promising, believe it or not — was on the field far too much last season to have a lasting impact.
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Let's face it, only the Raiders can make Pro Bowl receiver Randy Moss — warts and all — invisible. He doesn't even get in trouble off the field anymore.
"This is a historic franchise with greatness that has fallen with tough times," Kiffin said. "But we will bring it back to where it was before. We will do that through hard work. I am ready to roll up my sleeves and do the work. I will bring an explosive, powerful offense to this franchise."
But will it work? As long as the Raiders stay in the AFC West, they're going to run into quality defenses like the Chargers' and Broncos' four times each season.
"You don't have to be old to be great," Raiders owner Al Davis said. "You have to be good. You have to want it. You have to have a desire, a passion for football."
Kiffin, it appears, has that passion.
Just not much else. Just like his team.
MICHAEL'S STAYING: Speaking of the Raiders, a report this week out of Northern California had Oakland and Atlanta interested in possibly orchestrating a deal involving Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, Raiders receiver Jerry Porter and several draft picks.
It's intriguing for sure. Anything involving Vick is these days, as a matter of fact. But it's most likely not going to happen. Atlanta owner Arthur Blank didn't open the vault to bring in offensive guru Bobby Petrino to coach the club without letting him use Vick under center for at least a season.
So, it appears the Raiders lose out again. For now.
ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR MANNING: Colts quarterback Peyton Manning has no broken bones in that injured thumb he suffered against the Patriots on Sunday. He underwent a battery of tests, simply for precaution. Nothing shocking here, but he will start against the Bears in Super Bowl XLI. Indianapolis is -6.5 on WagerWeb.com.
