Herrera is embarrassing the fact that Rich Gannon doesn't know how to call a game.

Well, maybe it's not quite that bad.

But it's pretty bad. Per David White, here is what John Herrera said in "banning" Rich Gannon from Saturday's walk-through:

"Rich Gannon is not welcome here," Raiders executive John Herrera said Friday when asked about the ban. "We told CBS we did not want him in our building, we did not want him to be part of our production meeting, and that's where it sits."

Oh, and there's more. My personal favorite? After quoting Gannon as saying that the Raiders should "just blow up the building and start over," Herrera goes all Giuliani on his ass:

"We think in a post 9/11 world, that's not a very proper thing to say," Herrera said. "It's uncalled for. He seems to be a guy who can't get over the fact that he played the worst Super Bowl game in the history of the game and he wants to blame everybody but himself.

"I guess it's our fault he threw five interceptions."

Wow. Jerry McDonald says he is "speechless at the notion that if Gannon did say these things, that they were taken literally."

So, the Raiders are either literally the dumbest team in America, or Rich Gannon is a terrorist.

To think, this guy was the league MVP. Playing for us.Now I'm really bummed that the game is blacked out, because I want to hear what Gannon has to say.

Because not even the CLOAK can defend this.

ESPN Declares Cable

Based on a "source close to another candidate," Michael Smith has, by process of elimination, deduced that Tom Cable will be named head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Of course the worst PR man - or the one with the worst job (a combination of both?) - in the business, John Herrera, vehemently denies that the decision has been made, while simultaneously pointing out how ridiculous the Raider hiring process is:

"The decision has not been made," Herrera said. "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."

Hopefully the Raiders will not go overboard with their denials and push another coach to take a position on Denver's staff.

Schefter agrees with Smith that Al has made up his mind, but adds a caveat: "It also should be noted that team owner Al Davis is the original maverick, and he has been known to unexpectedly change his mind."

David White disagrees on a technicality, and guesses that the Raiders will wait until Tuesday to make it official. He also reports that Hackett is now QB coach and that Mike Haluchak from the Browns may come in for a DC interview, following John Marshall.

Correction: Haluchak for LB coach...and per David White he and Marshall are expected to be hired, leaving the offensive coordinator post to be filled.

Ho Hum

Another captivating coaching search by the Raiders. Cable got his interview. The Rooney Rule is satisfied after a visit from Winston Moss. Now Gilbride is in town, and we can add him to this list now that Herrera is finally willing to call his conversation an "interview."

While it is tempting to be discouraged when contrasting this search with others as Nancy Gay did today, as long as Cable is waiting in the wings we are better off than offering the job to Sean Payton, having him get cold feet and go home, denying the whole thing, then waiting an eternity only to have Art Shell come back. Not many on the hot list would consider the gig.

Speaking of Herrera, Lombardi's "Baghdad Bob" take on Jason Jones' post about the Lofton firing is worth a laugh...

Kawakami: Harbaugh is Next Coach if he Wants It.

Tim Kawakami has a long blog post about Stanford Coach Jim Harbaugh and his love of Al Davis and the Raiders.

Jerry quips: "Don’t know who Tim’s source is, but I’m going out on a limb and guessing it’s not John Herrera."

You know what? It seems like Harbaugh's a good coach. If he wants to be here, and Al can get some help in the front office, I guess it's better than eating a turd sandwich.

Lance Kiffin Update.

Because it's a slow news week, Raiders-wise. Lance filed his grievance yesterday. Al's response:

The Oakland Raiders received Mr. Kiffin's grievance today. It is a short letter that:

_ Completely ignores the fact that Mr. Kiffin repeatedly made reckless statements that attacked players, assistant coaches and the owner of the team and were damaging to the Raiders organization.

_ Does not dispute that Mr. Kiffin made a number of false statements to the media that were damaging to the Raiders organization.

_ The grievance attaches Mr. Kiffin's signed contract but ignores the provisions that explicitly stated that all of his duties were "all subject to the direction and supervision of the general partner" of the Raiders and also ignores the provisions of his contract that required him to avoid any conduct "which would embarrass, discredit or disgrace" the Raiders. Mr. Kiffin failed to honor his contract.

_ Ignores completely an NFL resolution that was expressly incorporated into every coach's contract and that states that every coach: "Shall have an obligation to communicate openly and candidly with the principal owner and/or his designated representative to ensure that club ownership is informed on a complete and timely basis of all matters affecting the club's operations, to respect the authority and responsibility of ownership to make decisions on behalf of the club and to avoid actions that undermine or damage the club's reputation or operating success." Mr. Kiffin violated each and every provision of this resolution through 2008.

_ Mr. Kiffin's false statements to the media were conveyed to the fans and the team further damaging the reputation and good will of the Raiders organization.

Mr. Kiffin was terminated for cause. The grievance is without merit.

I like that the contract stipulated that no actions be taken that could "embarrass, discredit, or disgrace" the Oakland Raiders.

So tell me, again, why Herrera is still working for the Raiders?

Nancy Gay: Meltdown.

The most shocking thing she reports is that Al only has three advisors he listens to anymore: Knockout John Herrera, P.R. Manager Mike Taylor (helluva job this week, Mikey!), and Raiders general council Jeff Birren. Even Amy Trask is out, according to Nancy.

That's just ridiculous. I mean, even the Lions finally fired Matt Millen this morning. And we're stuck with Al and his three stooges. It makes a little sense, actually, since Al went to the same high school as Moe Howard.

The (Managing) General (Partner) in his Labyrinth

Lance called Kawakami to apologize for Herrera's meltdown. He also answered some questions, said he's still the coach, and that he thought they "were trying to have a professional news conference."

Ouch.

Elsewhere, Lowell Cohn sticks up for TK, and calls out Raiders fans who show up on their blogs and call them "girls" and "bitches" in the comments. I used to participated pretty heavily in the comments section of Jerry Mac's blog. But it got boring: either you're an Al Davis apologist who is too blind to see that he should be in a nursing home, wearing depends, and has no business whatsoever running a team, or you're a hater who doesn't recognize that the greatness of the Raiders is in it's Future, and that includes Al Davis, who already wears THE CLOAK OF IMMORTALITY.

I've spent time in both camps, actually. I kind of lean towards the "Al Must Go" variety now, but I also feel sorry for him. It's like reading The General in his Labyrinth, Gabriel García Márquez's novel about Simon Bolivar's last trip down the river, still fighting his old battles, paranoid, feverish, constipated. The "labyrinth" of the title is his own dementia. Can't you just see Mr. Davis roaming the halls of the Harbor Parkway with his walker, shouting at Pete Rozelle and Marcus Allen, or cursing Wayne Valley?

"I'm Embarrassing the Fact that You Don't Know How to Write a Column"

That's an actual quote from John Herrera while confronting Johnny's new favorite columnist in this remarkable exchange caught on film. I think we've moved beyond embarrassing by now. It's mortifying. The franchise is literally dying and rotting away, flailing out with clouded vision and misguided energy that only accelerates the process.

Let's see...bright side. Maybe that Herrera is embarrassed about having handed out the article? If you look closely in the background you can just make out the Hindenburg bursting into flames outside the press room window: