In the end, 'Coach Davis' will demand victories

ALAMEDA

Hue Jackson, the rookie head coach of the Oakland Raiders, is an enthusiastic man, the kind of guy who smiles through everything, even losses, and who bounces on his toes from the pure joy of being a coach.

It is life-enhancing to be around Jackson, even if we don't know, really, if he can coach or command a locker room or rally a team from a losing streak. His first act as coach was to call Al Davis "Coach Davis." On the face of it, this is the most blatant kissing up. But in fairness to Jackson, he may not be kissing up. He may really think Davis is the be-all-and-end-all of football wisdom, and Davis, after all, is Jackson's boss.

Here is Jackson on his relationship with Davis: "It's total communication. It's been great. Obviously, there's decisions that have to be made based on what the organization thinks is best, and I support that to the fullest."

Has there been anything at all that's surprising in his relationship with Davis?

"No, just that it's been totally opposite of what everyone thinks, that he is someone that I can communicate with, bounce things off of and talk to, talk through things with. This is his team, I respect that. But, boy, do we really have some great conversations about where we need to go and what we need to do to get better."

Why have the past few coaches had such poor relationships with Davis?

"I can't speak to what everybody else has been through. I can only comment on what I deal with every day, and I feel very comfortable."

This is the I'm-different-from-everyone-else approach to job performance. Forget that Davis quarreled with just about every recent Raiders coach and publicly humiliated the past two, Lane Kiffin and Tom Cable. Jackson thinks he's different. He is a good man full of good nature and his good nature will appeal to Davis' good nature (if he has a good nature). It will be Big Coach joyfully tutoring little coach, becoming a new man like Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol."

That's what Jackson thinks, and God love him for it. The other night, the Raiders held an evening practice to prepare for the conditions of their season opener Monday night in Denver. Afterward, Jackson bounded to a podium on the side of the field, a grin punctuating his face.

He talked about his team's first game as if it will be the unveiling of Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers.

"Oh my gosh," he said, gushing, "as it gets closer, I get even more excited. I don't want to just blow my whole everything right here tonight. (Please don't, Coach.) We've got a long way to go before that game. I'm looking very forward to that game. The time's now. It's time for the Raiders to play like Raiders."

How does he feel about being on the national stage?

"We want to be on the national stage. We want to go out and showcase our talent and abilities."

Listening to Jackson sugarcoat football, you could have come down with a case of sugar diabetes.

I asked if he is confident of winning the AFC West.

"Absolutely," he said, laughing out loud. "I'm not going to be unconfident about it. We're zero-and-zero right now just like everybody else. On Monday night, we're going to show everybody what the Raiders are all about."

How does he feel about going 0-4 in the exhibition season?

"That doesn't faze me or our football team one bit. It is what it is. We were 0-4, that's what we were. There's no doubt about that, but I can't be concerned about that. What I'm concerned about is these next 16. We've got to play 16 to earn the 17th and that's what we intend to do."

Another time, he had said this about going 0-4 in the exhibition season: "My vision and what I see is different than what everyone else sees. I understand that. I sit in a whole different chair. I know a lot of people wish I was on the floor, crying, upset and upside down, but I'm not. Because I know what's in our locker room, I know how hard this team works and I truly believe the hard work is going to start paying off here very soon."

Here's the truth about Jackson. Give him full credit for trying hard, for keeping his glass half full, or spilling over. But Davis is different from Jackson. He is the face of hard reality — in recent years, of grim reality. He will not care if Jackson calls him "Coach" or if Jackson is giggly or if Jackson is upbeat. He will care if Jackson wins enough. Only that. Does the coach win enough? If Jackson wins, Davis will retain him. If he loses, Davis will discard him. It's that simple.

Oh, there is one benefit to Jackson's approach. When he fires Jackson, Davis won't assassinate his character like Kiffin or Cable.

For more on the world of sports in general and the Bay Area in particular, go to the Cohn Zohn at cohn.blogs.pressdemocrat.com. You can reach Staff Columnist Lowell Cohn at lowell.cohn@pressdemocrat.com.