Former Raiders Critical of Davis

Former Oakland Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffen may have decided to take the high road in cancelling his Wednesday press conference in which many assumed he would defend allegations from owner Al Davis that he is a liar and engaged in propaganda to make the Raiders look bad. But other former members of the organization aren't being so tight-lipped.

Take, for instance, former quarterback Rich Gannon, who had some interesting things to say about the organization on Sirius Radio:

"Well, you know it from being around it. I always said it’s not a tough place to work; it’s an impossible place to work. I left there on a high note. I went to four straight Pro Bowls, was league MVP. I don’t have any bad feelings about the place. I just know how difficult it was for me and I just look at the people that have left."

"Mike Shanahan leaves and wins two Super Bowls. Jon Gruden leaves and wins a Super Bowl. Norv Turner is having success in San Diego. To let people like that leave, particularly a guy like Jon Gruden who really worked and really threw every ounce of energy he had into the place. To let him leave the way he did was just a mistake. And what happened is, in my opinion - people say, ‘Why have they had the big fall-off since the Super Bowl and stuff?’ – I think that it’s about six people who have left the organization that really were the heart and soul of the whole group and really kept it going."

"Guys like Jon Gruden, Bruce Allen, the general manager, Bill Callahan, who was our offensive coordinator and offensive line coach. You lost quality people and some players and they’ve never been able to recover."

On the prospects of their latest head coach succeeding, Gannon had this to say:

"This guy, Tom Cable, the poor guy, does he think he is more equipped and better prepared than his predecessors? In other words, if Jon Gruden couldn't make it there and Bill Callahan couldn't make it there and then if Norv Turner couldn't make it there and then Art Shell couldn't make it there and then Lane Kiffin couldn't make it there, why does he think, all of a sudden, he's going to make it there?''

Wow!

Retired defensive tackle Warren Sapp threw in his two cents worth as well, saying, "Nobody tells you how bad it is." He said he was mad that ex-Raiders didn't warn him about how bad things were and said if anyone calls him for advice he says, "Do not go anywhere near Oakland."

Double Wow!

That's hardly a ringing endorsement.

With the Brett Favre Saga, the Tatem Bell bag-jacking incident, Chris Cooley exposing himself on his blog, and this cluster fudge in Oakland, this is shaping up to be about the most entertaining year in football off the field!

Photo: Jamie Squire / Getty Images