The Oakland Raiders haven't ventured into the postseason since Rich Gannon guided them to Super Bowl XXXVII more than a decade ago.
The former quarterback has watched his old team cycle through a laundry list of players and coaches since, looking nothing like the win-at-all-costs franchise that dominated portions of the last century under Al Davis.
After firingDennis Allen four games into the season, the Raiders -- facing yet another reboot -- have Gannon hot and bothered over "players and coaches and people in the building that have become comfortable with the process of losing."
"You got this sign in front of the building out there -- I don't know if you've ever been out there ... it says, 'Commitment to Excellence.' They ought to take it down. It's false advertising right now," Gannon said Wednesday on The SiriusXM Blitz. "There's no commitment to excellence! There's a commitment to mediocrity right now, and that's the problem. You need to change the culture and the environment. You need to bring in some people who are capable of rooting out the issues, and it takes people who know the history of why they have not won. You need to bring in some people who have been there and have done it, then maybe, things will change."
Gannon wasn't finished.
"There's people out in Oakland, in that building -- players, coaches, front office, people in business, accounting -- stealing. They ought to give the check back. The product on the field is terrible, and when you lose like that, how can you go to the bank and cash the check? You should be embarrassed. And that's the facts! And I know (owner) Mark Davis knows that -- it's got to pain him to sign those checks every week.
"Could you do that? I couldn't do that. For what? They're stealin'! That's a problem. When you're stealing, and you've got that culture and environment that exists, that it's OK to just take that check even though you're not putting in the work, you got a problem."
Part of the "problem" for Oakland is convincing any would-be coach that he'll be given the tools and support to build something lasting. NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport noted that Davis would like to hire a "superstar" who brings instant respect to the organization. Despite a lingering "emotional connection" between the Raiders and former coach Jon Gruden, the ESPN announcer said Wednesday that he's "not even thinking about coaching."
With three-quarters of the season still left, though, Davis has plenty of time -- and cash -- to try and change Chucky's mind.
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