Kiffin fired by Raiders

Franchise post 5-15 record during reign of 33-year-old

Last updated: 1st October 2008   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Kiffin fired by Raiders

Kiffin: 5-15 record in charge of the Raiders

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The Oakland Raiders have finally fired head coach Lane Kiffin after several weeks of speculation surrounding his future.

The 33-year-old, who signed a five-year contract in January 2007, was the youngest head coach in the NFL when he arrived at the franchise.

He steered the team to a 4-12 record last season and they were 1-3 at the start of the new campaign having twice blown fourth-quarter leads.

His exit comes as no surprise following a turbulent period, with Oakland owner Al Davis reported to be close to firing Kiffin on several occasions.

Davis wrote up a resignation letter in the off-season but his coach refused to sign it. The pair had failed to agree on the future of defensive coordinator Rob Ryan.

Cable guide

Now the 79-year-old has turned to offensive line coach Tom Cable to take charge on an interim basis. He is the is the 16th different coach in team history and the fifth hired since 2002.

"Collectively we will be better," Davis said. "It might not show right away, but we will win.

"The more I talked to him (Cable), the more I felt there were some things there that the Raiders needed."

Kiffin, who was previously the offensive co-ordinator for Southern California University, admitted recently that he had not spoken to his boss since before the season got underway.

He finished with a 5-15 record in Oakland, his last game in charge being on Sunday when the Raiders lost 28-18 to the San Diego Chargers.

Scott Linehan was the first NFL coach to lose his job this year when he was fired by the 0-4 St Louis Rams on Monday.

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