An analysis of recent Raiders denials
So the Raiders have creatively denied reports that Tom Cable will retain his job as head coach next year. Shocking. The Raiders also denied that it rained in the Bay Area last week, that the conference championships are being played today, and that JaMarcus Russell is a terrible quarterback.
Raiders executives John Herrera and Amy Trask are basically professional deniers. They come up with excuse after excuse to cover for the wild and crazy machinations of their wild and crazy team owner, coach and players.
But are the denials accurate? We’ve heard enough wailing about Raiders PR to assume the worst about a Raiders denial. But should we? Do the Raiders lie, or just deny? Here’s a look at some of the recent Raiders denials and how their relative truthiness:
Jan. 2008
The news: ESPN reports Al Davis drafted a resignation letter and asked Lane Kiffin to sign it.
The denial, from Herrera: “There is no issue here. There was never an issue here. There’s nothing to it.”
The verdict: Half-accurate. There was an issue, all right, and a letter, but this report came nine months too early. Kiffin was fired in September after a warning letter from Davis. At the bizarre press conference announcing Kiffin’s firing, Davis said there was no letter in January.
Jan. 2009
The news: Chris Mortensen reports Davis tried to sell a controlling interest in the team.
The denial, from Trask: “Chris contacted no one with the Raiders to ascertain if there was any truth to his report. There is not.”
The verdict: Accurate. Mortensen was strong-headed in not contacting the Raiders and the info ended up being wrong, drawing a strong reprimand from ESPN ombudsman Le Anne Schreiber.
Jan. 2009
The news: Multiple outlets report Raiders retain Tom Cable as head coach.
The denial, from Herrera: “The decision has not been made. That’s not correct. At some point here we will have a head coach, but as of now that decision has not been made. We are assembling a staff as you know, but a decision on the head man has not been made.”
The verdict: Quarter-accurate. This denial came a week before the official announcement, so the creative wording (we haven’t hired him YET) was intended to buy more time. Still, it was strong wording and the reports ended up being correct. Was the decision writ when Herrera issued his denial? No way to know for sure.
Aug. 2009
The news: Details emerge about a fight between Tom Cable and assistant Randy Hanson at training camp in Napa that ended with Hanson’s jaw broken.
The denial, from Cable: “When all the facts come out, everything will be fine.”
The verdict: Accurate. In hindsight, Cable escaped from this situation just fine, thanks. The charges were dropped, Cable was never reprimanded by the team or the NFL, and Hanson even came back to work for the Raiders.
Jan. 2010
The news: Adam Schefter reports Davis is interviewing candidates for the head coaching job, despite the fact Cable hasn’t been fired. Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh and UFL darling Jim Fassel are reported to be among the candidates.
The denial, from Herrera: “The reports that we’ve interviewed prospective head coaches are totally untrue, totally false.”
The verdict: Three-quarters-accurate. Fassel himself denied talking with the Raiders and Harbaugh’s agent also denied the reports. But as the Chronicle reported last week, Davis like to “pick the minds” of coaches around the league about personnel and strategy. So you call it a mind-pick, I call it an interview, whatever. Davis probably shouldn’t talk to anybody about anything if he wants to avoid controversy. Then again, he doesn’t care about controversy.
Our final verdict? If this recent history is a guide, you can be about 70 percent sure a Raiders’ denial is accurate. That’s better than you might think, but not exactly 100 percent confidence-building. Most of the time, the Raiders are spewing half-truths and workarounds to divert attention from the truth. But sometimes, they’re just plain telling the truth.
Shocking, we know.
or 
or
By Peter on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 4:39 pm.
Tags: Oakland Raiders