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Bill Callahan ripped for last-game benchings
If the Oakland Raiders' 4-12 record didn't seal coach Bill Callahan's fate, the conflicts leading up to Sunday's season-ending loss to the San Diego Chargers probably have.
Callahan, miffed that cornerback Charles Woodson and running back Charlie Garner missed a Saturday night team meeting, deactivated both players about 90 minutes before Sunday's kickoff.
The coach's decision nearly created a locker-room mutiny, according to a report in The San Francisco Chronicle on Monday.
"Just vindictiveness," cornerback Terrance Shaw told The Chronicle. "That's what that was. (Callahan) was gonna take those guys down with him."
"What you saw was the last act of a desperate man," a team source was quoted as saying.
Callahan, who according to The Chronicle already has cleared out his office in anticipation of being fired, has had problems with the outspoken Woodson and Garner all season. When the players were apprised of the coach's decision to bench them, they reportedly erupted in the locker room before storming out and leaving the stadium.
"It was unbelievable, what went on in here before the game," quarterback Rick Mirer said. "It definitely affected everything we did out there (against San Diego). Just unreal."
Shaw told The Chronicle that the rest of the secondary was so enraged by Woodson's benching that the players considered leaving with Woodson.
"We're one, one unit." Shaw told the newspaper. "We were gonna go out together. But somebody had to play."
Even wide receiver Tim Brown, who has publicly supported the coach more than most Raiders this year, agreed after the game that a coaching change needs to be made.
"With everything that's gone down," Brown told The Chronicle, "even though the damage is (not) irreparable, I don't think he's the guy who can bring this team back together. Everything that Callahan and I have been through over the years, I've always said it's never a personal deal.
"But this year, he made things personal with this team. And you can't do that. You can't do that. You can't talk about your offensive line and your defensive front seven. You can't do that.
"If he's back, (the rebuilding) is going to take three years, because nobody is going to trust him. And that's the problem right now. Nobody trusts a word he says because of everything that's gone on."
The Raiders will have the No. 2 pick in the 2004 draft. Oakland, the Chargers, the Giants and the Cardinals all tied for the NFL's worst record. San Diego, though, clinched the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second time in four years, based on strength of schedule.
Source: AP
Callahan, miffed that cornerback Charles Woodson and running back Charlie Garner missed a Saturday night team meeting, deactivated both players about 90 minutes before Sunday's kickoff.
The coach's decision nearly created a locker-room mutiny, according to a report in The San Francisco Chronicle on Monday.
"Just vindictiveness," cornerback Terrance Shaw told The Chronicle. "That's what that was. (Callahan) was gonna take those guys down with him."
"What you saw was the last act of a desperate man," a team source was quoted as saying.
Callahan, who according to The Chronicle already has cleared out his office in anticipation of being fired, has had problems with the outspoken Woodson and Garner all season. When the players were apprised of the coach's decision to bench them, they reportedly erupted in the locker room before storming out and leaving the stadium.
"It was unbelievable, what went on in here before the game," quarterback Rick Mirer said. "It definitely affected everything we did out there (against San Diego). Just unreal."
Shaw told The Chronicle that the rest of the secondary was so enraged by Woodson's benching that the players considered leaving with Woodson.
"We're one, one unit." Shaw told the newspaper. "We were gonna go out together. But somebody had to play."
Even wide receiver Tim Brown, who has publicly supported the coach more than most Raiders this year, agreed after the game that a coaching change needs to be made.
"With everything that's gone down," Brown told The Chronicle, "even though the damage is (not) irreparable, I don't think he's the guy who can bring this team back together. Everything that Callahan and I have been through over the years, I've always said it's never a personal deal.
"But this year, he made things personal with this team. And you can't do that. You can't do that. You can't talk about your offensive line and your defensive front seven. You can't do that.
"If he's back, (the rebuilding) is going to take three years, because nobody is going to trust him. And that's the problem right now. Nobody trusts a word he says because of everything that's gone on."
The Raiders will have the No. 2 pick in the 2004 draft. Oakland, the Chargers, the Giants and the Cardinals all tied for the NFL's worst record. San Diego, though, clinched the No. 1 pick in the draft for the second time in four years, based on strength of schedule.
Source: AP