| While you couldn’t exactly call it
"March Madness," the fur is flying one week into the NFL’s 2002 free-agent
period. RB Ricky Williams has left the Saints for the Dolphins.
Browns head coach Butch Davis fell short in his pursuit of Williams but is still making
moves left and right, adding DE Kenard Lang from the Redskins and S Robert Griffith from
the Vikings to his defense and OT Ryan Tucker from the Rams to his offense.
In addition to Tucker, the NFC defending champion Rams have lost MLB London Fletcher to
the Bills and flashy No. 3 WR Az-Zahir Hakim to the Lions.
The Bills hope Fletcher will more than compensate for the departure of Sam Cowart, who
signed a six-year, $31 million contract with the Jets, who also have added DE Steve White
from the Bucs and S Sam Garnes from the Giants, in addition to re-signing LB Marvin Jones
and CB Ray Mickens.
And on it goes, with every team courting free agents one minute and evaluating the 2002
draft crop the next.
Suddenly overshadowed by all this activity is one of the hottest unanswered questions
in the NFL since the season ended with the Patriots shocking the Rams in New Orleans:
Who’s going to replace Jon Gruden as head coach of the Raiders?
Who cares?
John Parrella apparently doesn’t.
Parrella, a solid, run-stuffing defensive tackle who started the last 89 games for the
Chargers, signed a six-year, $24 million contract with the Raiders the other day. And the
fact the Raiders have been without a head coach since Feb. 18, when Gruden left to become
the head coach in Tampa Bay, didn’t seem to bother Parrella one bit.
"That wasn’t a concern of mine all," said Parrella, who should help fill
one of the Raiders’ key needs, with Darrell Russell serving a one-year suspension for
repeat violations of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy and Grady Jackson testing the
free-agent market.
"There are obviously some great people running (the coaching search),"
Parrella said. "With Bruce Allen and Al Davis, I’m sure the decision is going to
be an excellent one."
Which brings us to the main message in today’s column: Raiders owner Al Davis,
whose increasingly eccentric behavior the last couple of seasons had a lot of people
around the league wondering whether he was still capable of succeeding in the NFL, is far
from over the hill.
Truth be told, he’s as sharp as ever, more than capable of conducting team
business without missing a beat while settling on a replacement for Gruden, once and for
all.
Ever since fleecing the Glazer family in Tampa Bay to the tune of No. 1 draft picks
this season and next and No. 2s this year and in 2004 in exchange for Gruden, Davis’
reputation for having one of the keenest minds in the league is stronger than ever.
Armed with such a draft bonanza — in addition to $8 million in cash from the Bucs
— the lack of a head coach doesn’t seem all that earthshaking, although Davis
almost definitely must have someone in place by next week, with the draft fast
approaching.
But with Davis confidently calling the shots, the Raiders are continuing to make moves
that should keep them among the AFC’s most legitimate playoff contenders.
The signing of Parrella was a master stroke. In addition to being one of the
league’s more reliable run stuffers, Parrella is the polar opposite of Russell from a
work-ethic standpoint. The additions of both Parrella and ex-Bronco Bill Romanowki should
give the Raiders defense an extra dose of leadership and nastiness that is sorely needed.
Davis has made a commitment to excellence, if you will, that isn’t just lip
service.
The head coach?
We’ll find out soon enough. The main thing to remember is that Al Davis is still
running the show in Oakland.
And running it quite well. |
