Tim Brown accuses Callahan of "Sabotage"

The_herd · 12-31-2003, 08:41 AM

Never a dull moment in Raider land. The comments were on Tom Tolbert's radio show monday night.

http://msn.espn.go.com/page2/s/keown/031230.html

Quote:

Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown went on a San Francisco radio station Monday night and made some of the most remarkable allegations you'll ever hear about an NFL coach. If what Brown said is true, Pete Rose has nothing on Bill Callahan.

The gist of Brown's assault? Callahan "sabotaged" the team's season.

Brown did not suggest this was accidental sabotage, either. He suggested that Callahan had it in for someone in the front office, and just about everything he did from the first day of training camp until Sunday's loss to the Chargers was done with blatant disregard for wins and losses.

Callahan changed the team's offense for no reason other than sabotage. Callahan injected a negative attitude onto the team for no reason other than sabotage. Callahan deactivated Charles Woodson and Charlie Garner before Sunday's loss to the Chargers for no reason other than spite and sabotage.

I was driving as I listened to this, and my jaw was resting on the steering wheel. A Hall of Fame receiver, one who spent his whole career with Team Dysfunction, suggested repeatedly over the course of an hour that his head coach intentionally put his team in a position to lose games.

Have we ever heard anything close to this damning? We always knew the Raiders were the most unusual franchise in professional sports, but could it have deteriorated to this point? Commitment to Sabotage? Just lose intentionally, baby.

Brown said Callahan would spend time during practice telling the team they had no chance of winning that week's game.

He said Callahan repeatedly belittled his players to the point where nobody wanted to play for the coach.

He said Callahan came in at halftime of a game in which the Raiders were leading the Broncos and said, "Well, we haven't turned the ball over yet." The Raiders, evidently swayed by the power of suggestion, had three turnovers in the second half and lost.

"He coached to get fired," Brown said.

Brown also provided a history lesson, saying Callahan -- then an assistant -- twice walked out on the team in the final games of the 1998 and 1999 season. Just took his headset off and left the field, saying he didn't want to be associated with such folk as the Raiders.

An obviously fawning caller made a joking reference to Brown, saying he should have let the fans know about this weeks ago so the fans could have taken care of it in the parking lot.

Brown laughed, but the caller hit on something important: If the Raiders believed their coach was actively sabotaging their chances -- deliberately, no less -- didn't they have an obligation to themselves and their fans to make it public before the season ended?

Judging by his read-the-speech, leave-the-podium routine of the past two days, Callahan is not likely to respond to Brown's allegations.

One thing is clear, though: This was either the most vigorous plea for a coach's firing in history, or the most phenomenal shredding of a coach's character ever heard in public.

Just goes to show: There's a whole weird world out there, and then there are the Raiders.

Quote:

Tolbert's Take
When a classy guy and future NFL Hall of Famer like Tim Brown sounds off like this about his coach, it speaks volumes.

Based on what Brown told me Monday night on my radio show, it sounds like Raiders coach Bill Callahan didn't want to be in Oakland anymore -- in fact, didn't want to be there at all this season. You don't call your linemen "fat" in front of the whole team. You don't tell your players that you don't need or want them as friends (because you've got your own friends). You don't tell your defensive front seven that you'd love to call plays against them. That's weird stuff.

What do those bizarre statements accomplish? Nothing constructive at all. In fact, all it does is turn everybody against you.

When I played basketball for current Mavericks coach Don Nelson, I'd get ripped on a daily basis -- but it was never personal. Nellie would say, "Move your ass up the court" ... but never, "You're a fat ass."

When Brown used the word "sabotage" to describe Callahan's behavior, it seemed to me that he was saying this: When you look back at Oakland's season and put all the pieces together, Callahan's actions and demeanor indicate that he was either trying to coach his way out of Oakland or trying to sabotage his team's season.

Brown told me that he won't return to the Raiders next season if Callahan is still the coach (and added that a number of his teammates feel the same way).

How did the Raiders go from the Super Bowl to being so abysmal so fast? Brown said the negativity started in the team's first offseason minicamp. But he said there were also issues with Callahan last season. When you're winning, though, problems get smoothed over.

Last season, Brown said, Callahan's negative energy was directed at other teams and opposing players. But in this 4-12 season, the coach's negative energy was directed toward his own team, according to Brown. And the results were predictable.

Besides being an NBA analyst for ESPN, Tom Tolbert hosts a sports radio talk show on KNBR in San Francisco.

rkmsuf · 12-31-2003, 08:51 AM

Tim Brown is a jackass...Calahan a bad coach. Perfect match actually...

Ksyrup · 12-31-2003, 08:51 AM

What in the hell is "accidental sabotage?" That's an oxymoron, isn't it? ESPN seems to be full of morons writing for them these days.

rkmsuf · 12-31-2003, 08:54 AM

Oh I forgot, Tom Tolbert is a moron...All the players are accounted for here.

Accidental sabotage is way too technical to explain...

Ksyrup · 12-31-2003, 08:57 AM

Listen up y'all, it's accidental sabotage!

The_herd · 12-31-2003, 09:00 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rkmsuf
Oh I forgot, Tom Tolbert is a moron...All the players are accounted for here.

Accidental sabotage is way too technical to explain...

Agreed that Tom Tolbert is a moron. He's the worst NBA analyst I've ever seen in my life. The guy knows nothing about basketball and usually ends up saying, "When I played for Don Nelson....".

rkmsuf · 12-31-2003, 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ksyrup
Listen up y'all, it's accidental sabotage!

That's catchy...

The Afoci · 12-31-2003, 09:05 AM

Free Tibet.

Noop · 12-31-2003, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by The Afoci
Free Tibet.

Man I've missed you... any news with your *** tape?

The Afoci · 12-31-2003, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Noop
Man I've missed you... any news with your *** tape?

I lost all intrest in *** now. My sole mission in life is to spread the news of the great one returning. Leroy Hoard will run again.

Samdari · 12-31-2003, 09:25 AM

Quote:

Originally written by Tom Tolbert
You don't call your linemen "fat" in front of the whole team. You don't tell your players that you don't need or want them as friends (because you've got your own friends). You don't tell your defensive front seven that you'd love to call plays against them.

You don't do these things?

Why not?

They sound like quotes from the Bill Parcells handbook of motivation through negative reinforcement. I certainly think many successful coaches have told their teams they did not care whether or not the players liked them/became their friends. They actually all sound like things I would expect football coaches to tell their teams.

Ksyrup · 12-31-2003, 09:31 AM

I guess I don't get his motivation. He wants to get back at someone in the Raider's front office...by killing his career? This guy's got less of a chance of being hired for any position in the immediate future than Mike Price or George O'Leary did.

ISiddiqui · 12-31-2003, 09:31 AM

Jeez, I wonder when a Raider will say Callahan raped his daughter

rkmsuf · 12-31-2003, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ksyrup
I guess I don't get his motivation. He wants to get back at someone in the Raider's front office...by killing his career? This guy's got less of a chance of being hired for any position in the immediate future than Mike Price or George O'Leary did.

That's the genius of it...they'd never expect it...

cthomer5000 · 12-31-2003, 09:52 AM

Ksyrup · 12-31-2003, 09:53 AM

Dave Wannstedt wishes he had a mustache like that!

Ksyrup · 12-31-2003, 09:55 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rkmsuf
Oh I forgot, Tom Tolbert is a moron...All the players are accounted for here.

Accidental sabotage is way too technical to explain...

Actually, Tim Keown wrote that. Tolbert just wrote the other part about the phone call.

rkmsuf · 12-31-2003, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ksyrup
Actually, Tim Keown wrote that. Tolbert just wrote the other part about the phone call.

Since you want to split hairs, he's also a moron then...

"...sue everyone."

Butter · 12-31-2003, 10:09 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ksyrup
He wants to get back at someone in the Raider's front office...by killing his career? This guy's got less of a chance of being hired for any position in the immediate future than Mike Price or George O'Leary did.

Not even if he uses his codename?

Oh yeah yeah... that's right... codenames. Y'all hear that?!?! We're using codenames....

Dutch · 12-31-2003, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by cthomer5000

I Can't Stand It I Know You Planned It
I'm Gonna Set It Straight, This Traidergate...

bamcgee · 12-31-2003, 10:50 AM

I couldn't believe that the tone of the articles was that they were going along with what Brown said. Obviously Brown is looking for a scapegoat for a terrible season, as well as his own declining skills. It's pathetic. The idea that a coach is coaching to lose is a terrible insult, and if I were Callahan I'd want to slug Brown. If I was the next Raiders coach, I sure as hell wouldn't want such a slug on my team. Cut em all.

DeToxRox · 12-31-2003, 10:54 AM

I will say this about Garner and Woodson (and Woodson is my favorite player, going back to his Michigan days), they were in the wrong.

I guess they missed that meeting, and they didn't get back to their hotel room until 10:30 AM the next day. So for those two to be outspoken about Callahan means nothing when they were in the wrong themselves.

clintl · 12-31-2003, 11:24 AM

I actually don't have a problem with players rebelling openly against a bad coach with arbitrary rules. Apparently, the problems lingered for a long time with no resolution before players went public with their grievances. Keeping it in the locker room clearly wasn't working.

12-31-2003, 08:51 AM	#2
rkmsuf Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2001	Tim Brown is a jackass...Calahan a bad coach. Perfect match actually... __________________ "Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales

12-31-2003, 08:51 AM	#3
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	What in the hell is "accidental sabotage?" That's an oxymoron, isn't it? ESPN seems to be full of morons writing for them these days. __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

12-31-2003, 08:54 AM	#4
rkmsuf Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2001	Oh I forgot, Tom Tolbert is a moron...All the players are accounted for here. Accidental sabotage is way too technical to explain... __________________ "Don't you have homes?" -- Judge Smales

12-31-2003, 08:57 AM	#5
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	Listen up y'all, it's accidental sabotage! __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

12-31-2003, 09:05 AM	#8
The Afoci Pro Rookie Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Moorhead	Free Tibet. __________________ I had something.

12-31-2003, 09:31 AM	#12
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	I guess I don't get his motivation. He wants to get back at someone in the Raider's front office...by killing his career? This guy's got less of a chance of being hired for any position in the immediate future than Mike Price or George O'Leary did. __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

12-31-2003, 09:31 AM	#13
ISiddiqui Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Decatur, GA	Jeez, I wonder when a Raider will say Callahan raped his daughter __________________ "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages" -Tennessee Williams

12-31-2003, 09:53 AM	#16
Ksyrup This guy has posted so much, his fingers are about to fall off. Join Date: Nov 2000 Location: In Absentia	Dave Wannstedt wishes he had a mustache like that! __________________ M's pitcher Miguel Batista: "Now, I feel like I've had everything. I've talked pitching with Sandy Koufax, had Kenny G play for me. Maybe if I could have an interview with God, then I'd be served. I'd be complete."

12-31-2003, 10:50 AM	#21
bamcgee High School JV Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: San Francisco, CA	I couldn't believe that the tone of the articles was that they were going along with what Brown said. Obviously Brown is looking for a scapegoat for a terrible season, as well as his own declining skills. It's pathetic. The idea that a coach is coaching to lose is a terrible insult, and if I were Callahan I'd want to slug Brown. If I was the next Raiders coach, I sure as hell wouldn't want such a slug on my team. Cut em all.

12-31-2003, 10:54 AM	#22
DeToxRox Head Coach Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Michigan	I will say this about Garner and Woodson (and Woodson is my favorite player, going back to his Michigan days), they were in the wrong. I guess they missed that meeting, and they didn't get back to their hotel room until 10:30 AM the next day. So for those two to be outspoken about Callahan means nothing when they were in the wrong themselves.

12-31-2003, 11:24 AM	#23
clintl College Starter Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Davis, CA	I actually don't have a problem with players rebelling openly against a bad coach with arbitrary rules. Apparently, the problems lingered for a long time with no resolution before players went public with their grievances. Keeping it in the locker room clearly wasn't working.

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