(04-02) 04:00 PDT Palm Beach, Fla. -- Raiders coach Lane Kiffin is aware of rumblings that his powerful owner has usurped his authority, undermined his ability to hire and fire coaches, drafted a letter of resignation for him to sign and has taken over most of the operation of the franchise.
The second-year coach tackled the controversy without hesitation Tuesday during a nearly hour-long, candid group interview.
He acknowledged that there is truth to a lot that has been rumored and fiction to some of the other stories. And he made it very clear: It's very tough to work for Al Davis, and the boss is in charge. Of everything.
Asked if Davis listens to him, Kiffin was very frank.
"Yeah, he does. I don't know what he does with it, but we talk a lot," Kiffin said. "Because of the fact that we don't have a general manager, he's really the general manager. He's kind of the general manager, director of college scouting, director of pro personnel and sometimes the defensive coordinator."
Kiffin has spoken little since the Raiders finished the 2007 season with a 4-12 record. He hardly was seen during the scouting combine in Indianapolis in February. This week at the annual owners' meetings, Kiffin walked around wearing a Raiders logo on his shirt with an air of confidence. Or maybe it's simply resignation, that he has a challenging job, a demanding boss and high expectations before him.
If Kiffin quits under pressure, he's won't collect the $4 million remaining on his three-year contract. And Davis, who did not attend the owners' meetings, appears to be staying the course - for now.
Here's some straight Kiffin, addressing a number of subjects (and it's worth noting that he made a point of addressing his boss by his first name and not by the more customary "Mr. Davis" that is spoken around Raiders headquarters):
Is there any truth to all the rumors about a deteriorating relationship with Davis?
"Well, whatever that old statement is, where there's smoke there's fire .... Obviously, there was something. Everything wasn't made up. There were some things that were inaccurate that were said or that I read about. But like I said, we went 4-12, we went into the offseason and everything didn't go perfect, the way you want it to. But we're moving forward."
Are you under extreme pressure to produce in Season 2?
"I think if you're going to worry about getting fired, I think you worry about that the day you get hired at the Raiders, if you want to start studying the way it goes with the coaches. I don't feel any added pressure. I put pressure on myself. So I don't look at it as pressure to be fired, because if I did, I would have started looking at that from Day 1."
On talk that he wanted to fire defensive coordinator Rob Ryan but was overruled by Davis.
"At the end of the season, Rob and I had a meeting. And Rob felt that it may be in his best interest to go somewhere else and to pursue another opportunity. So I met with the owner the next Tuesday after the season. I expressed that to Al. Al thought about that for a while and we talked about a number of different things, a number of different scenarios that could come up. And then Al decided to stay with Rob. Rob has another year on his contract. So we're going about that in the offseason and looking forward to the future, working together and seeing how we can get better on both sides of the ball."
On the nearly $180 million spent on free agents, including re-signing defensive lineman Tommy Kelly and running back Justin Fargas, as well as adding high-profile safety Gibril Wilson, wide receivers Javon Walker and Drew Carter, and two-time Pro Bowl cornerback DeAngelo Hall.
"One of the questions is going to be, Did we overspend? Well, I don't know if you can figure that out right now. A lot of that is going to have to do with how these players play."
Is there concern about quarterback JaMarcus Russell's weight, and how is he progressing with his development and conditioning?
"JaMarcus has been great. He's been there for over three weeks already this offseason. He's in a really good place right now in his mind. Early in the morning, he has film sessions before he lifts (weights) and before he goes out onto the field with the players. He's working extremely hard. ... You're never going to play with him at 260 or 255 (pounds). That's not his body. I think as long as you're around 270 (with him), you're doing really well.
Do you think the Raiders should focus on a defensive lineman with the No. 4 overall draft pick?
"Yeah, I do. Like I said, we lost three guys (Chris Clemons, Tyler Brayton, Warren Sapp), we added two (Kalimba Edwards, William Joseph) in the offseason. It's definitely an issue we talked about before - with DeAngelo Hall, how does that help you when you're averaging 32nd in the league in rushing yards allowed per play? Well, we can play nine in the box now instead of eight in the box on every down, I guess. But to go out and get a defensive lineman or a tackle that can really play the run, that would really help us a lot."
