Fix the Franchise: Oakland Raiders edition

The Silver and Black, the commitment to excellence, and one of the finest NFL Franchises ever, all that is true but the NFL game has passed Al Davis by. To fix this franchise Al Davis has to give up some control, and hire a General Manger that understands today’s game. There are many Raider fans out there that seem to agree since they spent big bucks last season to buy a bill board to plead with Mr. Davis to hire a General Manager already.

I don’t want to bag on Davis a whole lot because he happens to be a personal hero of mine. He was the wartime commissioner of the AFL, and without him and his hard nosed stance the merger might never have happened. He had the courage to go against his NFL owners and testified on behave of the USFL in court, and has sued the NFL in order to move his team up and down the California coast. However his refusal to see QB Jamarcus Russell as a draft bust, is setting his team farther and farther behind.

Sure this team had personnel issues, but the real issue here is the man making the personnel decisions. Yes, at one point Al Davis was the best NFL owner, and his team has seen unparalleled success in marketing across the globe, but it is that time for Al to step aside. I could effectively make the argument for every other old AFL owner as well, so I am not singling Davis out.

Let’s face it, the NFL is a lot more fun when the Raiders are good, can win games, and compete for playoff spots. They have the Black Hole which may just be the most intimidating set of fans in the league today, but the struggles on the field make all that feel very empty. With Davis at the helm the Raiders have become a laughing stock, and every year the get a little further behind.

Related Links:

•Oakland Raiders news and notes
•How to fix bad NFL Franchises
•2010 NFL Draft news, notes, and rumors
•2010 NFL Mock Drafts
•2010 NFL Free Agents
•NFL Complete.com