MOBILE, Ala. -- They're in limbo, to put it mildly.Former members of the Raiders coaching staff -- yes, former members -- are attending the Senior Bowl here this week for many reasons. Though the most commonly-held belief -- that they are representing the Raiders -- is not one of them.Not for now, anyway.Not when the contract of every single member of the fired Hue Jackson's staff has expired, except for one, according to a source, and thus, the coaches are no longer employed by the organization and they have literally been locked out of the Raiders' Alameda facility.
No, they were not fired; their contracts simply ran out last week. All except for offensive coordinator Al Saunders, who is here wearing Raiders gear.Usually, Al Davis gave the assistants on a staff a two-year contract. But with the lockout last summer and so much uncertainly over the labor situation, Davis only gave them one-year deals, with the understanding they could all re-negotiate later in the season. But Davis' health worsened until he passed away on Oct. 8.New general manager Reggie McKenzie, meanwhile, had a brief meeting with the coaches after he was hired and told them that the new coach would have the power to hire his own entire staff, meaning if they wanted to stay, they'd have to interview with the new coach."We're unrestricted free agents," said one coach."We're just waiting to see what's going to happen," said another.So far, receivers coach Sanjay Lal has left for the New York Jets and assistant coachdefensive line Mike Waufle has also departed, purportedly for St. Louis, though the Rams have not confirmed his hiring.Seen here for the Senior Bowl this week -- Saunders, defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan, special teams coach John Fassel, assistant linebackers coach Ricky Hunley, assistant coachsafeties Kevin Ross and running backs coach Kelly Skipper.Seen representing the Raiders in the scouting effort -- Calvin Branch, Zach Crockett, Bruce Kebric, John Kingdon and Mickey Marvin.
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