Here’s a novel theory about why Mark Davis canned Hue Jackson as the Raiders coach—if you accept that the firing was the owner’s idea, and not that of new GM Reggie McKenzie. It’s offered by Yahoo Sports’ Michael Silver, who says Mark Davis didn’t want to be surrounded by coaches and others who witnessed the lousy way his late father, Al, treated him:
Add: Silver quotes an ex-Raiders assistant as saying that Al Davis, who died Oct. 8 at the Oakland Airport Hilton, once banished his son from the room on draft day, and told him ‘to shut the [expletive] up’ all the time. It was a regular occurrence. He treated him like his opinion didn’t matter.” Says Silver:
Some owners’ offspring, such as the Patriots’ Jonathan Kraft, the Cincinnati Bengals’ Katie Blackburn and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Art Rooney II, are shrewd, engaged presences entrusted to operate their respective franchises at the highest levels. Others, such as the Indianapolis Colts’ Jimmy Irsay and the 49ers’ Jed York, inherit ownership and obviously outshine their parents.
Mark Davis is Tommy Boy, trying not to face-plant on a table full of beers. And the thought of presiding over a team with a brash, intelligent and charismatic coach who knew how dismissively his father used to treat him had to be a daunting prospect.
