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Embattled Raiders coach Bill Callahan addressed his players Monday morning for the final time this season.
It had better be for the last time ever if the Raiders want to retain the services
of cornerback Charles Woodson, Woodson said.
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Wide receiver Tim Brown, cornerback Terrance Shaw, defensive tackle Rod Coleman, among others, teed off on Callahan on Sunday after Oakland's season-ending loss to the San Diego Chargers. Ticket master. Woodson cranked up the heat Monday. Quarterback Rich Gannon gets his shot at putting a spin on As Raider Nation Turns today in a news conference that he orchestrated.
It's difficult to imagine things getting any worse for Callahan after the barrage
heaped his way by Woodson.
"I won't play for him," Woodson said. "However you want to print
that, however that sounds to anybody, nah, I won't play for him."
Callahan responded to the mutinous events of the past few days by reading a
416-word prepared statement during a hastily called news conference Monday morning.
He concluded by closing a folder he brought with him, walking away and slamming
a door that separates the media room and the rest of Raiders headquarters.
"I'm really disappointed in our season, and I look to the future with great
promise for all of our players and for all of our coaches," Callahan said
before storming off without answering any questions.
Woodson said Callahan's future can't be with the Raiders or else his playing
days in Oakland are finished after six seasons. He is an unrestricted free agent
once free agency begins March 3.
"This is where I plan on being," Woodson said. "I don't plan
on Callahan being here."
The final straw, Woodson said, came when Callahan deactivated Woodson and running
back Charlie Garner for Sunday's game after Woodson and Garner missed a mandatory
snack session and team curfew Saturday night.
Many of Woodson's teammates deemed Callahan's actions Sunday excessive. After
the game, Shaw said he and some of his defensive mates contemplated sitting
out the game in protest. Brown said the players don't trust Callahan. Coleman
said he no longer would play for the Raiders even though he's signed through
2005.
Brown added fuel to the fire Monday in an interview on KNBR 680-AM radio.
"I don't think (Callahan) wants to be coach, don't think he should be coach
and don't think he will be coach," Brown said, adding he couldn't play
for Callahan.
Brown also said Callahan said many personally insulting things to his players
during the season. The worst, Brown said, came during training camp when Callahan
told the team he didn't need any of them as friends, saying he has plenty of
friends outside the game.
For his part, Woodson said it was wrong and selfish of him to miss the mandatory
meeting and curfew, apologizing to his teammates, fans and coaches. Still, he
said, he expected only to be fined.
"To be deactivated for a game, it was just (Callahan's) way of saying,
'F' Charles Woodson,' pretty much," Woodson said. "That's just the
kind of person he is. Obviously, he has something going on internally that he's
dealing with that makes him act that way. But that's how he is. You just have
to roll with it."
The Raiders rolled with Callahan's ways the past two seasons. Things appeared
fine during their Super Bowl run last season. However, things unraveled about
the middle of this season and now are irreparable, players said.
In particular, defensive tackle Dana Stubblefield said Sunday, Raiders managing
general partner Al Davis needs to decide whether to keep Callahan or Woodson
and Garner.
"Everyone knows the relationship that those guys ... have with the head
coach," Stubblefield said of Woodson and Garner. "You'd think it was
under control, but it wasn't. It's a done deal. Obviously, they don't like each
other."
Woodson made that point clear Monday, as if there were any doubt after he blasted
Callahan in a nationally televised interview Nov. 2.
"He's not the type of person you want to be around," Woodson said
Monday. "He's just really brought a really negative vibe to this team over
the course of the season. Like I said, he's made it personal with me. That's
obvious."
Not so, Callahan said. The punishment meted out Sunday is consistent with the
way he suspended center Barret Robbins the day of the Super Bowl last Jan. 26
for missing team meetings and practices, as well as the way he handled similar
situations the past two seasons.
"My decision to bench them was predicated solely as my responsibility as
a head football coach and also as a responsibility to this team ... ,"
Callahan said. "I'm paid to manage this team, and in all fairness to the
other team members I had to do what was necessary, as any leader would do in
any organization. I cannot and will not accept lack of discipline on this football
team."
Neither Davis nor senior assistant Bruce Allen addressed the media Monday. No
other news conferences are scheduled after Gannon's.