Kiffin's looking for a few assistants

Lane Kiffin hasn't fired anyone, but he might have some say in adding to the coaching staff.

Recently fired San Diego wide receivers coach James Lofton met with Kiffin and offensive coordinator Greg Knapp on Monday at team headquarters in Alameda about a potential assistant coaching job, senior executive John Herrera confirmed.

Any head coach would take on such a duty. But with talk in recent days that had Kiffin refusing owner Al Davis' request he quit and daring the owner to fire him while owing him approximately $4 million in salary, it's the latest sign Kiffin might not be headed out.

That doesn't mean Davis isn't looking to hire experienced coaches who could step in if Kiffin is replaced.

A source familiar with the Raiders' coaching situation said recently fired Washington offensive coordinator Al Saunders would be in town to meet with the Raiders, but Herrera had no knowledge of Saunders interviewing for a position.

Saunders' agent, Bob LaMonte, said: "We've heard nothing from the Raiders."

Saunders also has drawn interest from St. Louis, according to published reports.

Like Lofton, Saunders was a candidate for the head-coaching job when Norv Turner was fired after the 2005 season.

If one or both were to join the Raiders, they would join defensive coordinator Rob Ryan as coaches on staff to have interviewed for the Raiders' lead position.

Ryan lost out to Kiffin last year. Lofton lost out to Art Shell a year earlier. Saunders accepted the Redskins job before the Raiders hired Shell in 2006.

If hired, Lofton likely would fill the role held by Charles Coe if Kiffin gets his wish to replace the wide receivers coach after being disappointed in the group's play.

All that has been specified is that, if hired, Lofton, a Hall of Fame receiver and former Raider, would be an offensive assistant. Herrera said talks between the sides would continue.

Kiffin didn't get his wish to replace Ryan, defensive-line coach Keith Millard, linebackers coach Don Martindale and defensive backs coach Darren Perry. It was assumed Kiffin would fire Ryan after refusing to endorse him following the defense's drop from third in 2006 to 22nd in total defense last year.

In what has become an offseason custom, players have aired grievances with the Raiders' head coach to Davis, this time saying the 32-year-old Kiffin couldn't handle an NFL locker room.

Kiffin's penchant for criticizing players in the media also didn't go over well in the locker room. He was especially critical of rookie quarterback JaMarcus Russell following his three-interception day at Jacksonville in Week 16.

That game represented Russell's first extended playing time. He didn't get all the practice snaps leading up to the game and didn't know he would play nearly the whole game.

That Kiffin waited until December to play Russell and kept young players benched in favor of aging veterans didn't go over well, either.

Davis wasn't happy Russell sat so long, even though he wasn't signed until Week 2 after contract negotiations headed by Kiffin friend and director of football development, Mark Jackson, stalled. It also didn't help that Randy Moss caught an NFL-record 23 touchdown passes for the New England Patriots after being traded from Oakland in April. Davis said the trade was made at Kiffin's insistence; Kiffin credited Jackson with getting the deal done.

Published reports have Kiffin and Jackson being stripped of having any say in personnel decisions, which the Raiders deny.

The Raiders also deny Davis drafted a resignation letter for Kiffin after the two disagreed over the Ryan situation, though multiple sources confirm the letter was delivered to Kiffin.

Davis also was angered by Kiffin's interest in numerous college coaching jobs. Kiffin was a 31-year-old college assistant when Davis hired him last year.

Word got back to Davis through a friend with Arkansas ties that Kiffin was interested in the job that went to former Atlanta coach Bobby Petrino. Kiffin also had interest in Michigan and UCLA, sources said.

Davis traditionally has had final say in personnel matters. If Lofton joins the staff, you can bet he'll do it with Davis' approval.

About the writer:

• Read Jason Jones' Raiders blog at www.sacbee.com/blogs.