Raiders Winning Race to the Bottom: Lane Kiffin becomes NFL's youngest coach

It's been a tumultuous several years for the Oakland Raiders. Their tail-spin begun after getting trounced by Tampa Bay in Super Bowl XXVII, but the situation continues to get worse. Rumors are circulating that Owner Al Davis is losing his mind, former star Randy Moss is not even a shadow of his former self, and Art Shell inexplicably received a second chance to run this once proud organization to the ground. Very few coaching candidates were brave enough to seek their recent head coaching vacancy. And who could blame them? There are very few bright spots in Oakland. They have some talent on defense, but their offense couldn't score on a Pop Warner team. Quarterbacks Aaron Brooks and Andrew Walter spent more time on their backs than inexpensive "escorts". One major selling point is that their on the clock with the first pick in the upcoming draft. With that in mind, Davis handed the keys to 31 year old former USC coordinator Lane Kiffin. The name should sound familiar. Kiffin's dad, Monte, runs the defense for coach Gruden in Tampa Bay. In his introductory post conference, the younger Kiffin promised to bring a "powerful" offense to Oakland. He knows a few things about powerful offense. He has spent the past six years working with Pete Carroll and the USC Trojans. Now that the Raiders have their guy, only one coaching vacancy remains. Kiffin is the youngest of the new head men, but none of the newly hired coaches are above the age of 45. A full list of the 2007 vacancies can be seen below:

TEAM	2006 COACH	2007 COACH	AGE OF NEW COACH
Arizona Cardinals	Dennis Green	Ken Whisenhunt	44
Atlanta Falcons	Jim Mora Jr	Bobby Petrino	45
Dallas Cowboys	Bill Parcells	??	??
Miami Dolphins	Nick Saban	Cam Cameron	45
Oakland Raiders	Art Shell	Lane Kiffin	31
Pittsburgh Steelers	Bill Cowher	Mike Tomlin	34

The average age of the new hires is slightly over 39 years. In comparison, the average coaching age around the league is over 50. It is interesting to evaluate age when examining NFL coaching positions because there is a very high turnover rate. Nearly three quarters of NFL coaches have been with their current team for three years or less. With young guys taking these jobs, it may be a sign of coaching stability for the future. It seems senseless to hire inexperienced coaches and not allow them a few years to put their stamp on the organization. Young leaders such as Kiffin and Tomlin should not be expected to create the instant turnaround enjoyed by Jets first year coach Eric Mangini. Hopefully all of these coaches will have ample opportunity to bring success to these underachieving franchises.