Raiders' Lane Kiffin is closer to the edge

ESPN.com, citing an unnamed source, reported the inscrutable Oakland Raiders owner is preparing to fire Coach Lane Kiffin, and scheduled hourlong meetings Monday night with individual members of Kiffin's staff.

The report said Davis had scheduled individual meetings with offensive coordinator Greg Knapp, offensive line coach Tom Cable and team consultant Paul Hackett.

Keep in mind, though, that ESPN and other news outlets reported a week ago that the Kiffin firing was all but done, giving every indication the coach wouldn't be around for Sunday's game against San Diego -- but he was.

That's not to say Kiffin won't be fired now. The timing makes the most sense, considering the 1-3 Raiders are heading into their week off before resuming their schedule Oct. 12 at New Orleans. But it's all up to the whims of Davis, who relishes being the unpredictable center of attention.

With that in mind, Kiffin was calm and ostensibly confident when he met with reporters Monday afternoon for his regular weekly news conference. It was a business-as-usual approach for a franchise where business never is.

"I have not heard anything to date," he said, when asked if he got any feedback from Davis -- negative or positive -- after Sunday's 28-18 loss to San Diego. The two haven't spoken for a week, at the very least. "Same story as every Monday when you guys ask me."

Davis, who likes to work closely with his defensive coordinators, tends to hire offensive head coaches. If he were to replace Kiffin with a member of the current staff, a candidate is running backs coach Tom Rathman, the former San Francisco 49ers fullback who came highly recommended by the late Bill Walsh. A likely landing spot for Knapp next season is offensive coordinator in Seattle, where Jim Mora is being groomed to take over for Mike Holmgren, who's stepping down after this season.

If Kiffin is dismissed, he will become only the seventh coach since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger who was fired before reaching the fifth game of the season. The sixth of those firings came Monday, when Scott Linehan was shown the door by the St. Louis Rams. He was replaced by defensive coordinator Jim Haslett, the former New Orleans coach.

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Although the New York Jets issued a statement in support of safety Eric Smith, saying he didn't intend to injure Arizona receiver Anquan Boldin, Smith deserves every bit of the punishment he got from the NFL for his blatant helmet-to-helmet hit. He was fined $50,000 and suspended for a game.