With the recent firing of head coach Lane Kiffin by the Oakland Raiders, there have been many questions raised about how Al Davis has run the team. In the last eight years the Raiders have had five different head coaches (Jon Gruden, Bill Callahan, Norv Turner, Art Shell, and Kiffin), and many blame this instability at the head coach position for the team’s recent poor performance. Being the man in charge, the blame for this instability falls on Al Davis.

But, few people know that early in the Oakland Raiders’ existence that Al Davis actually coached the team for three seasons. How did he do?

1963 10-4
1964 5-7-2
1965 8-5-1

His total win-loss record ended up being 23-16-3, not too bad of a winning percentage overall and a lot better than any other owner in the league considering that none of them have ever coached a pro football team. The truth is, when you view the team’s records during the coaching tenures of Jon Gruden, Tom Flores, and John Madden, the Raiders have had their most success when they have exhibited stability at the head coaching position.