The tension escalated early in training camp as Cable decided to split the team into two units and conduct side-by-side practices for the first four days. That meant Hanson and Washington coached on separate fields for the first eight practices, which exacerbated the coaches’ confusion over a new blitz scheme that they were trying to teach the players. “We had changed the blitz package two or three times over a short period, and everybody was really confused and frustrated,” Hanson said. “We ended up changing it a fourth time – back to the way it was in OTAs (organized team activities) – and one of the players said in a meeting, ‘This is confusing.’ I said, ‘You guys are [f——-] right – we’re all confused, and that includes the coaches. We’ve got to get on the same page. Don’t worry. We’ll get it right.’ ” On the evening of Aug. 4, the Raiders conducted a traditional, full-team practice in Napa that, Hanson said, “wasn’t one of our best.” After Hanson predicted that he would be blamed for the defensive problems, the other coaches told him he was being paranoid. Cable, following a 45-minute session with the defensive backs, summoned Brown, Washington and Hanson to an outside patio area and told Hanson, “They don’t want you in there.” Cable told Hanson he wasn’t sure how he planned to remedy the situation and would get back to him in a couple of hours. Hanson then told his fellow assistants, “If The Man [Davis] calls you about this, tell the truth” – a statement he believes may have gotten back to Cable and increased his ire. “If Tom knew that I had called what was going to happen, and if he thought I had talked to Mr. Davis about it, maybe he thought his cover had been blown and his plan had been thwarted,” Hanson said. Cable never got back to Hanson that night, and the next morning he told the assistant not to come out to practice. Afterward, Hanson was summoned to a small conference room for a conversation with Cable. Hanson sat at a small rectangular table while Cable stood near the door. Recalled Hanson: “Tom said, ‘Randy, tell me, why would these players say these things about you and not want you around them?’ I said, ‘Tom, they didn’t come to you; you went in there and created a problem. If this is true, how come I’ve never heard of this from any of the other coaches?’ He said, ‘And that’s what pisses me off – that these guys would keep this from me. I’m gonna bring ‘em in.” At that point, Hanson said, Marshall, Washington and Brown were summoned to the room and took seats at the table. Hanson said that when questioned by Cable both Washington and Brown stuck up for his abilities. Then, Hanson recalled, “John said, ‘Well, Tom, Randy’s been great. He knows this stuff and has been a big help for me. But I’ve been coaching for 30 years in the NFL, and when a player comes to a coach with a problem about an assistant, you’ve got to get him off the field. And I have told Randy on several occasions, ‘Don’t confuse the players.’ ” At that point, Hanson continued, “I said, ‘John, I’m so disappointed. That’s a lie.’ From the side I heard Tom scream, ‘That’s bulls—-,’ and before I knew it Tom had blindsided me.” Hanson said he lay on the floor, dazed, as Cable told him to “Get the f—- up.” Marshall helped him back into his chair, at which point Cable said, “I’m not gonna let you ruin my football team. If you want to be on my team, you are gonna be off the field, and you’re gonna do all the quality-control work, but you’re not to be around those f——- players. Do you accept the position?” Recalled Hanson, “Willie was gesturing to me, ‘Just say yes,’ because he probably was worn out from pulling Tom away twice before.” Hanson told Cable he needed time to consider the request, and Cable said, “I’ll come back to you in a couple of hours for an answer.” After going back to his room, Hanson said, he received a call from a Raiders defensive back who had heard about the incident. “He told me that what Tom said had happened in that meeting wasn’t the way it went down,” Hanson said. “It was nothing like what Tom said occurred, and several players later told me the same thing.” Not wanting news of the incident to leak and embarrassed to be seen because of his swollen face, Hanson stayed in his room until late that night, when the pain became pronounced. Early Wednesday morning Hanson went to the emergency room at Queen of the Valley hospital in Napa, where he was given X-rays. Hospital officials, as required by law, informed the Napa Police that Hanson had said he’d suffered the injury in an assault, and an officer later arrived to question him. “I downplayed the whole thing and didn’t give them any names,” Hanson said. “The last thing I wanted was publicity. I said, ‘You know what the message is? The Raiders are back.’ ” The next day Hanson received a call from a hospital employee telling him he had a fractured upper left jawbone; he also suffered two cracked teeth, a bruised knee and a bruised back. He returned to his home in Livermore and tried to communicate with Cable, but the coach never contacted him. Davis had been out of town at the time of the incident – he was on the East Coast giving a deposition to a lawyer for Kiffin, who is challenging the owner’s decision not to pay him the balance of his contract. He did not meet with Hanson until Aug. 16, 11 days after the incident. At that meeting, Hanson said, Davis told him he’d be a distraction to the team if he were allowed to return to his former role and that such a move would be seen as Davis undermining his head coach. Davis gave Hanson three choices: Move over to the personnel side; accept Cable’s proposal to perform quality-control duties while staying away from the players; or receive the balance of his contract (which runs through the 2010 season) without returning to the organization. “You’re Tuck-Ruling me,” Hanson told Davis, comparing the perceived injustice to the controversial replay reversal that cost the Raiders a victory over the New England Patriots in the 2001 playoffs. Yet despite his frustration, Hanson has remained loyal to the organization. Late last month McGuinn, his attorney, told NFL.com that several Raiders players had solicited Hanson’s input about upcoming opponents, with one even giving him a team laptop that used to belong to Brown. “Al Davis doesn’t know [Hanson has] been providing detailed coaching for these guys, and Randy has not gotten any credit for it,” McGuinn told the league’s website. A source said one Raiders assistant has also reached out to Hanson in recent weeks. Hanson declined to comment about any help he might have provided to players or others in the organization since he was barred from visiting the team’s facility. After holding out for more than seven weeks, Hanson finally gave a 90-minute interview to Napa Police detective Mike Walund on Sept. 26 during which he turned over medical records. While Hanson is not sure what will happen next – “That’s in the police’s hands,” he said – he can’t help but root for the Raiders on Sundays. “I watch every game,” Hanson said. “I want them to win. Once a Raider, always a Raider.” Asked whether he plans to sue Cable and/or the organization, Hanson said, “I wish this had never happened. I was hoping it wouldn’t get to this point. But sometimes you’ve got to be a Raider, too. I mean, if he were in my situation, what would Mr. Davis do?”
"Chris Berman said this Sunday morning, and it’s still true: Darrius Heyward-Bey has more names (three) than catches (two)."
It's pretty clearly either them or the Rams - no one else is really close. Of course, if you're including the off-the-field stuff with Davis, Cable, etc., the Raiders are the off-the-chart winners.
The Raiders are worse because the Rams are clearly rebuilding and going through an ownership change... Plus the Raiders have had top 10 picks for the last 8 years... Including a #1 overall QB who's on year 3 and plays like a high school sophmore
Thank you. I honestly don't know why this notion is continually ignored. I think it would be effective.
