Callahan defends leadership role

Friday, October 31, 2003
Updated: November 1, 12:03 PM ET


ESPN.com news services
Nine months after playing in the Super Bowl, the Raiders are 2-5 and reeling. And one of their most prominent players is blaming their head coach.

In an exclusive interview with ESPN's Andrea Kremer, cornerback Charles Woodson was critical of Bill Callahan. The interview will be aired on Sunday NFL Countdown.

"I think that we have a coach with a very big ego," Woodson told Kremer. "You know what I mean and he's not listening to the veterans and that's what's sad about it. You know when you get to a point in life when you can't listen to guys with experience like we have on our offense then I think that's something very wrong. That's the problem."

Callahan said Friday that he has not seen the clip of Woodson's comments. "I don't respond to anything that's negative and I'm not even going to comment on that," Callahan told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Callahan said he had not decided whether to speak with Woodson regarding the controversial comments. However, he did defend his own leadership role with the team.

"By and large, for this team, I've managed it extremely well and I'll continue to do a good job,'' Callahan told the newspaper. "I'm very confident in managing this club.''

Callahan has been unable to revive the Raiders' struggling offense. After thriving last season, the Raiders rank 24th in the NFL in total offense, with veterans Rich Gannon, Tim Brown and Jerry Rice struggling mightily at times. Jerry Porter -- who emerged last year as a talented receiver -- has been hurt most of this season and has yet to be a major factor.

The Raiders have been forced to deal with lots of turmoil recently, including Bill Romanowski's practice-field fight and concussion trouble and Barret Robbins' return to the lineup.

"I'm telling you, this locker room is as tight as it's ever been,'' Brown told The Mercury News on Thursday.

"You just go out and do your job," Rod Woodson told the newspaper. "You get paid to play football. You don't get paid to worry about Romo not being here or things going on off the field with individual players. We don't get paid for those things. We're not psychologists. We can't help those guys with those things."

Sounds like a lobby to get a ticket out of Oakland.

The Raiders have better half-time shows than their football games, period. I almost feel bad watching them play sometimes, I know Gannon won't complete that pass; that running back didn't get the block he needs; well, there goes another 4-and-out. Sorry John, you need another team. It's ok, I do too, my NY Giants aren't doing much better in my eyes.
Justin
-BHB

http://deadspin.com/5978147/jerry-rice-and-tim-brown-say-bill-callahan-threw-super-bowl-xxxvii






oakland raiders
Jan 22, 2013 6:00 PM 16,802 26
[h=4]Jerry Rice And Tim Brown Say Bill Callahan Threw Super Bowl XXXVII[/h]


Jack Dickey

Bill Callahan, the offensive coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys, just got a promotion today. Jerry Jones took the playcalling reins away from Jason Garrett and put them in Callahan's hands. (Was Dallas's offense a problem? They ranked sixth in yards per game and 11th in Football Outsiders' DVOA stat. I guess Jerry Jones just likes changing things up periodically. As with his face.) Anyway, I'm sure everyone who's ever worked alongside or for Callahan is quite excited for him and sending along their best wishes—
Bill Callahan might be a bad coach, to be sure. He went 4-12 in his second year with Oakland, and his players despised him. Charles Woodson and Charlie Garner refused to play for him. Brown told the AP in 2003 that "nobody trusts a word [Callahan] says." In 2005, left tackle Barry Sims said of Callahan's Raiders, "About halfway through the year Callahan left, he basically stopped coaching and half the team basically shut it down." Callahan then went to Nebraska, where he had a revolting 27-22 record. (Frank Solich, his predecessor, went 58-19; Bo Pelini, Callahan's successor, has gone 48-20.) Hell, he may be a very bad coach.
But does the evidence support charges of throwing the game? Not really. Tim Brown said Callahan didn't run the ball enough. But 11 carries for 17 yards doesn't suggest a play-calling problem; it suggests a problem with the running backs and offensive line. Was Callahan supposed to start Barret Robbins? Rich Gannon's five interceptions don't really impugn the gameplan, either. They impugn Rich Gannon, who says Callahan's innocent.
Perhaps Jerry Rice should stop worrying about this mystery, which isn't terribly pressing to today's NFL fans (one doubts Gruden or Callahan will ever become a head coach again), and focus instead on this one: Rice turned 40 years old in 2002. He caught 92 passes for 1,211 yards and seven touchdowns that season. Before the Ty Law rule was enforced. At 40. Someone explain that.
Jerry Rice agrees with Tim Brown: Bill Callahan sabotaged us [PFT]