So I’ve been screaming from the roof tops under just about every post about how bad Al Davis is for the Raiders.  I figured that if I’m going to tell everyone there is a problem I should try to offer up a solution too.  You may think that this stuff won’t change anything, but that’s not entirely true.  If fans start talking enough then local media starts picking it up (usually sports radio is the first).  As the clamor grows the support grows, and while Al will certainly neither see or care about this particular post, it’s not outlandish to think that down the road he may hear a similar message.

The first step to fixing the Raiders problems is building a front office.  I don’t know the inner workings Al’s administration, but from everything I’ve gleamed it’s a fairly small outfit.  That’s one of the many outdated strategies Al uses.  When you look around the league most teams front offices are really robust, usually consisting of two divisions.  The first is the business side, they handle the cap, salary negotiations, and the day to day workings that any major business sees to.  The second is of course player personel, the side that Oakland appears to be lacking more so than the business side.  As far as I can tell the player personel department starts and ends with Al, with a sprinkling of cronies in the middle.

But of course the biggest part of any front office is the GM.  As I’ve said around here ad nauseum, the last time we were succesful was the last time Al let someone else make the decisions.  Unfortunately for me I know quite a bit about poor GM performance and GM searches, between the Mariners and the Raiders I’ve had my fill  (I may bleed silver and black but good god do I hate the A’s).  In my opinion the Raiders really need to find someone that understands scouting and building through the draft (this will be part 2, unless I’m flamed to hell, and even then I still might).  Using this criteria these are the candidates I’d love to see Al go after:  (First 3 provided by Adam Schefter)

                             Ruston Webster, Seahawks’ VP/Player personnel — Has a great job with a great salary in Seattle, so might not be easy to hire.

-       The Hawks have had good success in the draft and have won their division 4 straight years.  This former lowly AFC West division rival has turned into something of a model franchise, but on the field and from a business perspective.

                          Gene Smith, Jaguars’ executive director of college and pro scouting — Viewed as the heir apparent in Jacksonville.

 -       Jacksonville has been a very talented team for longer than people realize, and even when they’ve been great they’ve been overshadowed by the Colts.  He’s being groomed to be a GM and has his backround completely in player personel.

                       Tom Heckert, Eagles’ general manager — Has come close to leaving Philadelphia before and could be persuaded again.

-       Probably not incrediably realistic, but if theres even a chance you take a look.

                  Brian Gaine, Dolphins assitant director of player personel – Has touched Bill Parcels.

 This is not a comprehensive list by any means.  I'd fully encourage pillaging the Seahawks, Eagles, Colts, Steelers, Jaguars, Packers, or anyone touched by Bill Parcels.  Of course it's all moot however if Al can't keep his hands out of the cookie jar.

For better or worse, Al is the Raiders.  Our team has a personality and a legacy that no other team can match.  Sadly we've clung to the idea of the Raiders far longer than the results on the field have told us to.  We've done it out of fear that if Al goes, if the Raiders change, the things that we loved will go away.  But the fact of the matter is that no one can take Kenny Stabler, Fred Biletnikoff, Art Shell, Tim Brown, Willie Brown, Howie Long, or even Al Davis away. 

Al should, and always will be the face of the Raiders.  The crazy menacing old Al and the slick crafty young Al weave one of the most interesting tapestries of pro sports.  But it's time.  It's time for Al to hand over the day to day workings of the team.  It's time to let someone else sign the players and hire the coaches.  It's time for Al to sit back and enjoy his team.  And it's time for us to have a team worthy of Raider fans.