MVN: Most Valuable Network

Its two weeks short of a year since Al Davis made Lane Kiffin the youngest coach in the modern era of the NFL. Kiffin's first year at the helm of the Oakland Raiders has been fraught with stormy seas, but he has been able to navigate them with aplomb. His won loss record is in no way indicative of the job that he has done as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. There can be no debate that he took over a team that was at the lowest point in franchise history, and he has begun the process of turning that ship around.

Positives:

Kiffin immediately set about changing the culture of losing that has hung over Alameda like stench near a tallow plant on a summer day. He brought the "I'm in" mantra to Oakland, and set about picking up the pace of practices and bringing the team together. His top success was having a team that was still fighting in every game up until the end of the season.

Coach Kiffin opened up competition at camp for starting positions, something that was taken advantage of by Justin Fargas who won the starting running back job over the better paid Dominic Rhodes and LaMont Jordan. Quintin Moses found out that being a third round pick was no guarantee of making the team as he had been outplayed by sith round pick Jay Richardson and was cut.

Kiffin showed an ability to learn on the fly. After losing a heartbreaker to the hated Denver Broncos when Mike Shanahan called a late timeout to ice Sebastian Janikowski, Lane Kiffin pulled the same move on the Cleveland Browns to the same effect.

Lane Kiffin showed that he was going to be aggressive, going for many fourth and shorts. These are the kind of calls that are really no-win situations for the coach. If he doesn't go for it, he is criticized for being too conservative. If he goes for it and they don't make it, then he is seen as reckless and a gambler. Of course, if he makes it then he looks like a genius. Those calls are good for changing a losing culture. By going for it on fourth down, Kiffin was telling his team to get out there and execute because he has faith in them. The same goes for the 64 yard field goal attempt that SeaBass barely missed. After having the season to evaluate the players on the team and a full offseason to revamp the roster, Kiffin should be closer to having the horses that he needs to be even more successful on those 'risky' calls.

Kiffin did quite well in handling the delicate situation of JaMarcus Russell's development after his holdout cost him all of training camp and preseason. He worked Russell in slowly so that he could get his feet wet before finally handing him the keys against the Chargers. Look for this relationship to continue to develop over the offseason, and pay positive dividends next season.

Weaknesses:

There were many times it seemed like Kiffin's play calling was too predictable. Much of that is due to it being his first year in the NFL, and the carousel he had to endure at quarterback. Shifting from the mobile yet noodle armed Josh McCown to slightly more mobile than Kerry Collins but rocket armed Daunte Culpepper led to inconsistency in the type of offensive passing plays that Kiffin could call. It didn't help that there was a dearth of speed at the wide receiver position, so deep passing was not much of an option. In fact, there was a dearth of wide receivers in general on the team with only Jerry Porter, Ron Curry, Johnnie Lee Higgins, and Mike "Butterfinger" Williams breaking camp with the team. Williams was cut mid-season and Tim Dwight was brought in.

It seems like the Daunte Culpepper v Josh McCown quarterbacking situation could have been handled better. Its hard to say for certain because of the various injuries to both of them at different parts of the season, but at times it seemed like Kiffin was throwing darts at a dartboard with their names on it to decide the starter. It is also true that neither quarterback seemed to take the starting job and run with it.

Overall, Kiffin showed a lot of promise for a first time head coach who is learning on the job at the highest level of the sport. If he is given the time, he will get the Raiders' ship righted and in contention. Look out NFL, the Raiders are on the rise!