Jump to content
[[Template core/front/custom/_customHeader is throwing an error. This theme may be out of date. Run the support tool in the AdminCP to restore the default theme.]]

Tim Brown making a push to work in Raiders' front office


kpholmes
 Share

Recommended Posts

Brown stumps for front office job

 

By Jerry McDonald - NFL Writer

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 12:10 pm in Oakland Raiders.

 

Tim Brown did everything but send out campaign buttons while professing his love for the Raiders and his desire to help Al Davis fix what’s wrong with the organization during a radio interview with KTHK (1140-AM) in Sacramento.

 

Davis said during a press conference announcing the firing of coach Lane Kiffin he was going to add a management level job, and that he had a “unique” candidate in mind with local roots.

 

Brown has no experience working in an NFL front office, but has never been short on confidence. Among his observations made with hosts Grant Napear and Mike Lamb:

 

Perception of the organization

 

“Right now the perception of the Raiders is not good, and that’s what’s so bad is it is a great organization, it’s done great things in the NFL, and for people to be any way thinking that the Raiders are just a laughingstock of the league, it hurts me to the core. I wish there was something that I could do on a day-to-day basis to really help that situation out, but my little spurts on TV and radio is not enough.”

 

Interest in working for the Raiders

 

“It would take me about two seconds to make that decision. At some point, home is home, and even though I reside in Dallas, Dallas is not home for me when it comes to the NFL. The love I get when I’m in Oakland, that’s home for me. I realize that, and if the Raiders ever asked me to do anything in the front office, certainly I would jump at the opportunity because I do think, not just my presence in Oakland, but in some of the decision making as far as what’s happening with coaches and players that come in, I think I could be very instrumental in helping in that area.”

 

The Presidency and Rich Gannon

 

“Not to make light of the situation, but you can’t do worse than what’s been done already. It’s like whoever wins the job as President. Hey, man, this is the easiest job in America after what’s happened the last eight years. You gotta do better than what’s happened. I think it’s a similar situation. I think where the organization is right now, and the perception of where the organization is right now, if you got a couple of people in there who were good football people and cared about the organization, it would be a very interesting situation.

 

“Even hearing a guy like Gannon say something negative about the organization is really wrong. Gannon knows that he came there with that `I hate the Raiders’ type mentality. He came in there with that, and showed that to all the players. Gannon wasn’t a very well-like player his whole time with the Raiders. In fact he was downright hated, and if not for my intervention, a lot of times, there would have been times he would have been sure-enough jumped on, almost. So for a guy like Rich to say something just isn’t fair to the organization, I don’t believe.”

 

The pull of the Raiders

 

“This is a place that can be turned around very easily. People love the fact that the Raiders, that silver and black, you hear guys talk about it, when I go to the Pro Bowls, I had to bring four or five helmets over because everybody wanted that silver and black helmet. It wans’t the Tim Brown helmet, people wanted that silver and black helmet, they want it as part of their weight rooms or their game rooms or wherever they’re putting that stuff. It’s there, and I think somebody just has to be there to lure these folks. But they’re going to have to know that somebody there is making good decisions. And as much as people love Al, there’s going to have to be somebody else there, I believe.”

 

Why Bruce Allen was successful

 

“If you know Al Davis, you know what he’s all about. He wants loyal people at the Raiders. He doesn’t want people there just for the money. If a guy come sin saying all the right things, that guy will be a 10-year player there no matter how he plays. He loves a guy who loves the Raiders and wants to play this game for what it’s all about. I think that’s one thing that Bruce understood. I don’t think they all the time went after the best free agent who was available because maybe that guy is going to be too expensive and they didn’t want to get into the holdout situations and all that, but they went after the guy that said, man, I want to play. If I get the opportunity to play for the Raiders, then that’s what I want to do.”

 

Co-existing with Davis

 

“You know, man, I can get along with anybody. I really can, and I know Mr. Davis and I understand Mr. Davis . . . the only thing I would ask of him is to trust me. That if I’m coming in here, then I’m going to do the best job I can possibly do, and it’s sort of like the Gruden mentality _ you’re going to fire me after two years anyway, so let me do what I need to do to get this thing done, and if it doesn’t work, then we’re going to have some great players in here and I’ll be out of here.”

 

Lack of experience _ the Matt Millen factor

 

“People are going to say he doesn’t have any front office experience and all this kind of stuff. But football is football. I don’t think I have to be crunching numbers and doing all that kind of stuff. There’s somebody who can do all that. When it comes to talent, coaching talent, player talent, who fits in, who doesn’t fit in, that’s one thing about the Raiders, you learn people. You learn personalities. You learn that because you have a lot of people in and out all the time and, so even if I wasn’t a GM, if I was just there for consulting purposes for players and things of that nature, and coaches, I think that would be something I’m very good at.”

 

His role and talking to Davis about it

 

“I don’t really think it should be a GM type position. I think it should be some form of a consulting role. I think at this point I don’t have anything to lose. I’m actually going to be there this weekend for a Gene Upshaw memorial deal that they’re doing Saturday night, and that just may be my opportunity to whisper in his ear and say, come on, man, I can’t take it no more, every time you turn on the TV and the Raiders are mentioned, there’s a punch line behind it. For me, for somebody who gave my heart and soul to the organization for 16 years, and to hear people think I’m just picking up for the organization because I played there, but there are some certain things I really feel about the place, but unfortunately, but people look at me with a cocked eye, saying, OK Tim, that’s cool.”

 

Now... will this work or not? Who knows.

Good luck though Tim, I hope you can get somewhere with him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information