Five years after his death, Al Davis remembered by Hue Jackson, ex-Raiders
Saturday marks the fifth anniversary of the death of former Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, and though things have changed dramatically with the team and the league since then his impact and influence on the NFL is tangible today.
We wanted to reach out to some people who worked closely with Davis, especially in his later years, and get perspective — from a former executive, coach and player — who knew Davis and what he meant to the franchise before his death.
Shutdown Corner this week spoke with Cleveland Browns head coach Hue Jackson, whom Davis gave his first head-coaching chance to back in 2011; former Raiders executive Amy Trask, one of the first prominent female power brokers in a male-driven league whose recent book, “You Negotiate Like a Girl,” delves into her history with the team and Davis; and former first-round safety Michael Huff, who made a game-saving interception in the end zone in the first game following Davis’ death — with 10 men on the field, no less.
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Here are their thoughts on the Davis they knew and his impact on the game — then and now:
Shutdown Corner: Al Davis seems to elicit a strong response when you mention his name. What aspect of him or his personality resonates with you the most when his name comes up?
Hue Jackson: “Obviously, the first word that comes to mind — icon. He was just a pure leader. At the time in my life when I was with him, where I was in football at the time, he was one of the greatest people that I have ever been associated with. He taught me so much about the game that I never knew. I think that’s one of the things that I don’t think people realize about Al Davis. He truly knew football and understood football — the X’s and O’s part of it.
“Obviously, he built the team and he’s won championships. He was very passionate about his Raiders, passionate about his coaches and very passionate about his players, and I don’t think people always saw that side of him.”
Amy Trask: “The biggest misconception about Al is that he tolerated no disagreement. Were that the case, I would have been fired two to three weeks after I was hired when I told him he was wrong. A loud argument ensued — we shouted at one another, and it went on for some time — and then, he said, ‘Okay, I got it, I got it, I understand.’ And the argument was over.”
Michael Huff: “For me, he really was a father figure when I needed it most. When I first got to the NFL I was 22 and just kind of on my own. I was living in California and living alone and away from all my family in Texas. He was a father figure when I really needed it. No one saw that, but he was important for me.”
SDC: Because he was such a jack of all trades and wore so many different hats — owner, coach, AFL commissioner, scout, negotiator, businessman and so on — is there an achievement of his or some quietly brilliant thing he did or achieved that doesn’t get enough credit?
Trask: “Al hired without regard to race, gender, ethnicity, religion and other characteristics that have no bearing whatsoever on whether someone can do a job. He did so long before others even thought about so doing. I don’t believe Al received — or receives — enough credit for so doing.
“Whenever I noted to Al that he should receive credit for something, he interrupted me and told me that he didn’t do this for recognition. I knew that. I knew that he acted as he did for all the right reasons, not for credit. But I still believe he should be recognized and acknowledged for this.”
Jackson: “I don’t think people knew how much he gave back to those who were loyal to him and to those whom he respected. He took care of his own. If you were good with Al, you were good. If you weren’t good with Al, you weren’t good. [laughs] I am sure you’ve heard many of those stories.
“But that’s just him — and I don’t think I am being negative when I say that. I think we’re all like that to a degree. But he just had a way about him that was different. There was no one like him. My time with him, I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
Huff: “It was his knowledge of the game. Even later on in his life, as his health [deteriorated], he’d still call me up to his office after practice and watch film. We’d go over some plays and look at the opponent we were playing that next week. That happened a lot. His knowledge of the offenses they ran and the defenses that would be good against it, it still amazed me he knew that much about football even though he was deteriorating toward the end.
SDC: If you were at a party and someone you just met asked you to tell your favorite Al story, what would it be?
Jackson: “It’s interesting you bring that up. Just [Thursday] it hit me, I don’t know why. We were in the staff meeting a little bit ago with our offensive staff, and we just started telling Al Davis stories. I don’t know if it was because I was thinking about this [interview], or what, but he just came into my head.
“I have so many Al stories, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. But my biggest Al Davis story, the one that will probably stick with me the longest, was really interviewing with him the first time. It wasn’t like other interviews I’d had, where it would be quick and you’d talk about philosophies and such and how we wanted to accomplish things.
“That wasn’t it with him. It was, ‘Take off your jacket, get on the greaseboard and draw X’s and O’s.’ And he’d take me through it, not someone else. We are talking about the owner of a team. He didn’t want to know about philosophy; he wanted to know about what I knew.
“Three hours later, there’s red and black pen all over his greaseboard. His greaseboard, too — he had it in his office. Did we come to an agreement that I somewhat knew what I was talking about? [laughs] I think so. I hope so.”
Huff: “There was one game where we were playing San Diego. I missed a tackle on LaDainian Tomlinson on the sideline. We came back and watched the film, and we were going over that play. I was pretty upset about it. Here’s the owner of the team, and we’re looking at my bad play.
“But the whole time, he was just kind of making jokes with me about it. He could get on you about things like a missed tackle. But he’s telling me what I should have done. He wanted me to take a shot at [Tomlinson] instead of being patient. LT was an elusive back, and he wanted me to try to take a big shot at him instead of just patting my feet.
“Those were those little fine details he still knew. And he always wanted you to hit a guy, especially a guy like LT. Most owners, they’re not football guys. All [most owners] care about is the money. Al was all about football.”
Trask: “I am going to respectfully and politely decline to answer this question. I could never pick just one favorite story. I had a hard enough time choosing stories for the book. I worked for the organization for almost 30 years, and I can’t pick just one — or even just a few. There were three decades of wonderful moments, wonderful stories.”
SDC: When Michael Huff intercepted the ball in the end zone against the Houston Texans a day after Davis died, it seemed like an almost impossible way to finish that game and honor his legacy — especially when there were only 10 men on the field. What do you remember most about that moment?
Huff: “It was man coverage, and we were supposed to be doubling the slot. I was on the slot, and I was supposed to have help with me, but there were only 10 men on the field. I didn’t know who it was [who was not out there], but I played the play with outside leverage and played it the same way as if the 11th man was there.
“It all just kind of worked out. It was just a special moment for me to be able to give back the game ball to the Davis family. I just wanted to show them how much I respected them and how much it meant to me and how much Mr. Davis did for me.
“The whole week leading up to that game, it was just such a big moment. He meant so much to the game and to the team, and suddenly he was gone. I would say it hadn’t fully sunk in during the game yet. After that play and when the game ended, that’s when I realized — and when I think the team realized — just how big it all was.”
Jackson: “For me even today it’s emotional. My loyalty to him, my respect for him for giving me the opportunity — it’s all still very emotional for me. But I go back to that night when his son, Mark, had told me that Al passed. I got a phone call before we went to Houston, and I sort of knew or could tell something was going on. I don’t know how, but I knew something wasn’t right.
“Al normally called me every Friday, and we were leaving on Thursday to go out to Houston and he called me. It was really interesting. He told me he wasn’t going with the team; he hadn’t traveled with the team most of that year. He said, ‘Hue’ — and this will always stick with me — ‘you’re doing a good job. Just keep pushing on these guys.’ And it just meant a lot at the time because you’re always unsure about things.
“But the other thing he told me — and this was classic Al — he said: ‘Make sure nobody sits in my seat.’ I’ll always remember those words I had with him before he passed.”
Trask: “Every time I think about that moment or retell that story, I cry.”
Here’s an excerpt from Trask’s book she was willing to share with us:
“A day or so after the game, we were back at our facility, and I was at a lunch table in our dining area with Huff, our other starting safety Tyvon Branch, and a few other players who were on the field for that play. One of them noted that we only had 10 men on the field. He was right. I had seen one of our linebackers mistakenly run off before the play.
“I shared my observation that the quarterback could have run into the end zone and that I couldn’t believe that he didn’t. Tyvon told me that when he saw our linebacker run off the field, he decided that he would follow [Texans quarterback Matt] Schaub and that if Schaub was going to run, he was going to have to go through him.
“We were finished eating but before leaving the table, I told the players we didn’t have 10 men on the field; we had 11. A few corrected me. One player started to explain which linebacker mistakenly went off the field right before the snap. I shook my head no, and again said that we had 11 men on the field. Michael and Tyvon understood what I meant.
“ ‘No, she’s right, we had 11,’ one of them said. There is no way Al would let us lose that game.”
SDC: When you look at the NFL today, now five years after Al’s passing, what are the hallmarks he left? Is there still an influence he has left over how teams operate?
Jackson: “Absolutely. He loved the counter trey. That was one of his babies. He believed in dominating. Al didn’t just want to beat you, he wanted to defeat you. Emphasis on that word defeat. That’s what Al was about. His team — he wanted the prettiest, the biggest, the baddest, and that’s what he was all about.
“To me, if you’re building a team, some of those characteristics are going to be there. That will be the Al Davis influence, and to me he has influenced a lot of these coaches who were with him. They’re all over the National Football League.”
Trask: “Wow, this is a fascinating question — and it’s difficult to select just one or two marks. But here’s one: Al believed — and over the course of almost 30 years regularly reminded me — that ‘the players are the game.’ He had a tremendous respect and appreciation for players.
“While many disagreed with and criticized him for his views in this regard, I believe that he could play an important role today in helping to repair the fractured relationship between the NFL and the NFLPA.”
Huff: “He was always about man-to-man and that physical, aggressive defense. You still see that across the league. Some of the owners, as I said, are simply about the money. But you see a handful of owners that are truly about the football aspect. He was football-first, and I think some owners are that way too.”
SDC: What do you think he would feel about this particular Raiders team?
Huff: “I watch this team every week, and he would love the way [Derek] Carr is throwing the ball to [Amari] Cooper and [Michael] Crabtree. I don’t think Al would have loved the defense the first two games, but the past couple of weeks the defense is playing well and making plays. I know [Davis] would have loved going for two in Week 1, I know that.
“I just think he would love the direction of this team. The future is bright for them. This is an Al kind of Raiders team.”
Trask: “I like to believe that he is smiling.”
SDC: Do you think he might have entertained the idea of moving the franchise to Las Vegas?
Trask: “Yes I do. I discussed that market — its viability, the possibility of a team relocating to it, etc. — with him on a number of occasions.”
Huff: “I think for me he would have found a way to make it work in Oakland. I think he knew how much the Raiders meant to Oakland. Just that city and how they resonate with that team. For me personally, it’s hard to say, but I think he would have found a way to make it work and stay in Oakland.
“I don’t think it has to do with Vegas not being a good NFL city. I just think the history with Oakland, Mr. Davis would have placed a value on that and tried to make it work there first.”
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
