NFL Accusations Bill Callahan Threw Super Bowl XXXVII

Sep 6, 2005
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Tim Brown suggests “sabotage” by Bill Callahan in Super Bowl XXXVII


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A decade ago, the Raiders’ fate in Super Bowl XXXVII presumably was sealed by the weekend disappearance of center Barret Robbins. Hall of Fame finalist Tim Brown believes that the blame for the 48-21 loss to the Buccaneers should go to Oakland’s head coach.

“We get our game plan for victory on Monday, and the game plan says we’re gonna run the ball,” Brown said Saturday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, which provided us with the audio. “We averaged 340 [pounds] on the offensive line, they averaged 280 [on the defensive line]. We’re all happy with that, everybody is excited. [We] tell Charlie Garner, ‘Look, you’re not gonna get too many carries, but at the end of the day we’re gonna get a victory. Tyrone Wheatley, Zack Crockett, let’s get ready to blow this thing up.’”

According to Brown, coach Bill Callahan then “blew this thing up” on the Friday before the Super Bowl, changing the game plan from a run-heavy attack to an intent to “throw the ball 60 times.”

“We all called it sabotage . . . because Callahan and [Tampa Bay coach Jon] Gruden were good friends,” Brown said. “And Callahan had a big problem with the Raiders, you know, hated the Raiders. You know, only came because Gruden made him come. Literally walked off the field on us a couple of times during the season when he first got there, the first couple years. So really he had become someone who was part of the staff but we just didn’t pay him any attention. Gruden leaves, he becomes the head coach. . . . It’s hard to say that the guy sabotaged the Super Bowl. You know, can you really say that? That can be my opinion, but I can’t say for a fact that that’s what his plan was, to sabotage the Super Bowl. He hated the Raiders so much that he would sabotage the Super Bowl so his friend can win the Super Bowl. That’s hard to say, because you can’t prove it.

“But the facts are what they are, that less than 36 hours before the game we changed our game plan. And we go into that game absolutely knowing that we have no shot. That the only shot we had if Tampa Bay didn’t show up.”

Brown explained that the change had a specific impact on Robbins. “Barret Robbins begged Coach Callahan, ‘Do not do this to me. I don’t have time to make my calls, to get my calls ready. You can’t do this to me on Friday. We haven’t practiced full speed, we can’t get this done.’”

Brown tiptoed around the question of whether the change caused Robbins to go off the deep end, suggesting that it had an impact and then explaining that there’s no way to know if it did. “I’m not saying one had anything to do with the other,” Brown said. “All I’m saying is those are the facts of what happened Super Bowl week. So our ire wasn’t towards Barret Robbins, it was towards Bill Callahan. Because we feel as if he wouldn’t have did what he did, then Barret wouldn’t have done what he did.

“Now, should Barret have manned up and tried to do it? Absolutely. But everybody knew Barret was unstable anyway. So to put him in that situation — not that he was putting him in that situation — but for that decision to be made without consulting the players the Friday before the Super Bowl? I played 27 years of football. The coaches never changed the game plan the Friday before the game. I’m not trying to point fingers at anybody here, all I’m saying is those are the facts of what happened. So people look at Barret and they say all these things, but every player in that locker room will tell you, ‘You’d better talk to Bill Callahan.’ Because if not for Coach Callahan, I don’t think we’re in that situation.”

Well, we now know what Tim Brown will be asked about next week in New Orleans. Continuously.

There’s only one potential flaw in Brown’s logic. He assumes that the new game plan came from Callahan. Who’s to say that the order to throw the ball 60 times didn’t come from the late Al Davis, who had a special affinity for throwing the football, and also for meddling directly in the coaching of the team?

Thus, while it’s easy to blame Callahan, Callahan may have simply been the messenger.

Regardless, Brown and Callahan and Gruden and quarterback Rich Gannon and anyone/everyone who was part of that team will soon be hearing from reporters and radio/TV producers, just in time for the 10th anniversary of the game.
 
Why is this in the trivia thread? :p

But yeah, throws (LOL pun) away the chance to be a Superbowl winning coach because he "doesn't like the organisation? I'm not buying it. If the gameplan changed so drastically as he said, it's definintely Al Davis sticking his nose in.
 
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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...abotage-by-bill-callahan-in-super-bowl-xxxvi/

A decade ago, the Raiders’ fate in Super Bowl XXXVII presumably was sealed by the weekend disappearance of center Barret Robbins. Hall of Fame finalist Tim Brown believes that the blame for the 48-21 loss to the Buccaneers should go to Oakland’s head coach.
“We get our game plan for victory on Monday, and the game plan says we’re gonna run the ball,” Brown said Saturday on SiriusXM NFL Radio, which provided us with the audio. “We averaged 340 [pounds] on the offensive line, they averaged 280 [on the defensive line]. We’re all happy with that, everybody is excited. [We] tell Charlie Garner, ‘Look, you’re not gonna get too many carries, but at the end of the day we’re gonna get a victory. Tyrone Wheatley, Zack Crockett, let’s get ready to blow this thing up.’”
According to Brown, coach Bill Callahan then “blew this thing up” on the Friday before the Super Bowl, changing the game plan from a run-heavy attack to an intent to “throw the ball 60 times.”
“We all called it sabotage . . . because Callahan and [Tampa Bay coach Jon] Gruden were good friends,” Brown said. “And Callahan had a big problem with the Raiders, you know, hated the Raiders. You know, only came because Gruden made him come. Literally walked off the field on us a couple of times during the season when he first got there, the first couple years. So really he had become someone who was part of the staff but we just didn’t pay him any attention. Gruden leaves, he becomes the head coach. . . . It’s hard to say that the guy sabotaged the Super Bowl. You know, can you really say that? That can be my opinion, but I can’t say for a fact that that’s what his plan was, to sabotage the Super Bowl. He hated the Raiders so much that he would sabotage the Super Bowl so his friend can win the Super Bowl. That’s hard to say, because you can’t prove it.

Some pretty big statements there.

GG, other Raiders fans... thoughts?
 
Was not a big fan of his, but losing Robbins who was a Pro Bowl centre may well have caused the change in gameplan he talks about. Unless an assistant at the time who knew the exact reasons for it ever comes out and says anything, will be a case of one word against another.
 
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Been a lot of updates on this today....

Rich Gannon: Bill Callahan was a good coach who wanted to win


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Former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon does not agree with his old teammate Tim Brown about coach Bill Callahan sabotaging the team in their Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers.

Gannon said on SiriusXM NFL Radio that he believes Callahan coached to win in Super Bowl XXXVII, when the Bucs beat the Raiders 48-21.

“In terms of Bill Callahan, let me just say this: He was a good football coach, he was a good man,” Gannon said. “We all wanted to win.”

Gannon made clear that he likes and respects Brown, but he doesn’t accept Brown’s version of events, which is that Callahan “hated the Raiders so much that he would sabotage the Super Bowl.”

So why did the Raiders only run the ball 11 times while throwing 44 passes in that game? Brown says Callahan changed the game plan at the last minute, leaving the Raiders ill-prepared. But Gannon says the pass-heavy play calling happened mostly because the Raiders fell behind early and trailed 20-3 by halftime.

“I think what happened was that we came out and tried to run the football early in that game, we didn’t have a lot of success,” Gannon said. “We fell behind in the game and at that point we started throwing the ball too much.”

Considering that the Raiders gained only 19 yards on their 11 runs, that theory seems more plausible than Brown’s bizarre belief that Callahan would put in all the work necessary to lead his team to the Super Bowl and then purposely sabotage his team by changing the game plan at the last minute.

“I don’t know that the game plan really changed,” Gannon said.

Where Gannon did acknowledge the Raiders’ coaches screwed up was in not changing up the terminology they used for calls at the line of scrimmage. Jon Gruden had coached the Raiders for the four previous seasons before coaching against them in the Super Bowl, and Gannon says Callahan hadn’t changed any of the terminology the Raiders used on offense. As a result, Gruden had taught the Bucs the Raiders’ calls, and the Bucs knew what was coming when Gannon barked out his signals at the line of scrimmage.

“So much of our verbiage and terminology was a carryover from what Jon Gruden had installed in terms of our run checks, and so we were calling certain plays and guys like Warren Sapp and Derrick Brooks were calling out the runs,” Gannon said. “So it kind of took us out of our no-huddle plan at the line of scrimmage.”

Failing to change the terminology so that the opposing coach wouldn’t know it was a huge gaffe by Callahan, and it’s completely reasonable to criticize him for that. But saying he made a stupid mistake in his preparation for the Super Bowl is a long way from saying he actually wanted to lose the Super Bowl.
 
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Romanowski “flabbergasted” by Tim Brown’s claims


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The teammates of former Raiders receiver Tim Brown are starting to speak out regarding his I’m-not-saying-I’m-just-saying-style suggestion that coach Bill Callahan “sabotaged” Super Bowl XXXVII by dramatically changing the game plan two days before kickoff.

Brown said on Twitter on Tuesday that teammates will back him up.

Linebacker Bill Romanowski isn’t one of them.

I’m absolutely flabbergasted,” Romanowski told Tony Bruno and Jon Marks of 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia. “Is he trying to be relevant for the Super Bowl? What is he trying to do? He absolutely couldn’t be further from the truth. So you’re saying that a man has a chance to cement himself in history with winning a Super Bowl and he wants to hand it over to his buddy? Give me a break, OK? It couldn’t be further from the truth. He doesn’t know what he’s talking about. And I’ll tell you what, I’m blown away that something like that would come out of an intelligent man’s mouth.”

It’ll be interesting to see if any of Brown’s teammates actually will back him up, especially since the offensive coordinator on that team was new Bears coach Marc Trestman, a hire that “shocked” Tim Brown.

“People want to make themselves more relevant,” Romanowski said. “Guys for some reason will get on the air and crap will come out of their mouths, and I’m telling you what this is complete crap.”

It’ll be interesting to see what the Hall of Fame voters think about this one in 11 days, when they convene in New Orleans to determine whether Brown’s bronze bust should have a spot in Canton.
 
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Lincoln Kennedy disagrees with Tim Brown, too


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We’re still waiting for one or more teammates of former Raiders receiver Tim Brown to corroborate his non-suggestion suggestion that former Raiders coach Bill Callahan “sabotaged” the team in Super Bowl XXXVII by changing the game plan two days before the game.

So far, at least three have not.

Joining quarterback Rich Gannon and linebacker Bill Romanowski is offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy.

“I was trying to play over the scenario over and over in my head guys, I just can’t wrap my arms around it,” Kennedy told 95.7 The Game in San Francisco. “I can see why he felt that way, but I just can’t get behind it and say that I agree with it.”

Kennedy instead focuses on the fact that Callahan failed to change things, despite facing a team coached by the guy who had just coached the Raiders, Jon Gruden.

“Gruden gave them our complete playbook, our checks, they knew what we were doing,” Kennedy said. “They knew where we were going. That’s how they were able to have so many interceptions for touchdowns. Because honestly that was the difference in the football game.”

Brown also appeared on 95.7 The Game to elaborate on his beliefs. “The facts are what they are,” Brown said. “That the Friday before the Super Bowl, we changed our game plan. And I know that [Barret Robbins] talked to Callahan and asked Callahan not to do this because he did not have time to make his changes and you know get the calls right, but I can’t put that on Callahan’s back and I’m not trying to do that.”

But Brown is putting something much more significant on Callahan’s back.

“After that game, were the guys talking about sabotage? Absolutely,” Brown added. “We knew how much he loved Gruden. We knew how much he hated the Raiders. We knew the fact that he had walked off the field on us a couple times. So we knew that there was no love with him and the Raider organization. I never want to say that I thought it was sabotage because I’m having to say that I believe I know exactly what this man was thinking, and I can’t say that so I won’t say that. I just know that he is smart enough to know the outcome of the decision especially when you are dealing with football players and football plays.”

Brown will appear on Tuesday’s edition of Pro Football Talk, at 5:00 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network. The topic possibly will come up.
 
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Charlie Garner agrees with Tim Brown, sort of


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We may need to put together a scorecard of the former Raiders who disagree and who agree with the suggestion by receiver Tim Brown that former coach Bill Callahan deliberately sabotaged Super Bowl XXXVII by changing the game plan two days before kickoff.

While three teammates who have spoken out so far disagree with Brown (Rich Gannon, Bill Romanowski, Lincoln Kennedy), former Raiders running back Charlie Garner sees a little merit in Brown’s contention.

“There may be something to what Mr. Brown has been saying,” told 97.5 The Fanatic in Philly. “I really don’t know the validity of which he despised the Raiders but I also know that he didn’t want to be there, too.”

Regardless of the reason, Garner agreed that something happened. “We came out with another game plan and it just was not what we practiced. . . . We as an organization and as a team had been through a lot of adversity so we were accustomed to it. Had we just stuck to the original game plan, I believe that we would have been successful.”

If Brown’s goal was to shine a fresh light on a game played a decade ago, Brown has been extremelty successful.
 
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Jerry Rice agrees with Tim Brown: Bill Callahan sabotaged us


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The bizarre controversy over whether former Raiders coach Bill Callahan sabotaged the team before Super Bowl XXXVII by changing the game plan at the last minute has taken another surprising turn: Jerry Rice has come forward to say he sides with his former teammate Tim Brown in believing that Callahan wanted to lose.

Rice, who was on the Raiders team that lost Super Bowl XXXVII to the Buccaneers, said on ESPN that Callahan disliked his players, disliked his team, and was willing to let his old boss, then-Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden, beat him.

“For some reason — and I don’t know why — Bill Callahan did not like me,” Rice said. “In a way, maybe because he didn’t like the Raiders, he decided, ‘Maybe we should sabotage this a little bit and let Jon Gruden go out and win this one.’”

For Rice, a universally respected player who was named in a poll of experts conducted by NFL Network as the greatest player in NFL history, to say that he believes one of his former coaches actively wanted to lose a Super Bowl is shocking. ESPN’s Trey Wingo stopped Rice and asked him if he realized the magnitude of the accusation that Callahan once threw the Super Bowl. Rice said he understands the weight of his words.

“Yeah, I know exactly what I’m saying,” Rice said.

Until Brown made his bombshell accusation on Saturday, the biggest controversy to come out of Super Bowl XXXVII was the fact that Raiders center Barrett Robbins abandoned the team the day before the game. Rice blames Callahan for that, too: According to Rice, Robbins was so demoralized by Callahan announcing in a team meeting that he was going to call mostly pass plays that Robbins decided to bail on the Super Bowl.

“With Barrett, he was frustrated, like, ‘You cannot do this to us at the last second.’ Maybe that’s why he decided to not show up,” Rice said.

I have all the respect in the world for Jerry Rice, but blaming Callahan for Robbins’ actions is ridiculous. Robbins is a man who has struggled with mental illness for most of his life. A man who struggles with mental illness is battling demons much more profound than a coach changing his game plan. Does Rice also blame Callahan for the legal and personal problems that have plagued Robbins in the decade since his NFL career ended?

Rice also doesn’t seem to accurately remember how that Super Bowl went down. In his ESPN appearance, Rice said Callahan called on the Raiders “to throw the ball over 60 times.” But the Raiders didn’t throw the ball 60 times or even 50 times. They threw 44 times — exactly three more times than they had thrown the ball the week before, when they won the AFC Championship Game.

And that brings us to the strangest part of all this criticism of Callahan: Brown and Rice are insisting that Callahan sabotaged the team by implementing a pass-first offensive game plan. But the Raiders had been a passing team all season: They led the NFL in passing yards that season while ranking 18th in the league in rushing yards and 23rd in the league in rushing attempts. In other words, Callahan called a lot of passes in the Super Bowl because it was calling a lot of passes that had led them to the Super Bowl in the first place.

For Brown and Rice to suggest that Callahan was throwing the Super Bowl because he continued to call a lot of passes just as he had all season long is absolutely ridiculous.
 
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Tim Brown: Bill Callahan wanted to lose the Super Bowl


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Former Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown is doubling down on his stunning allegation that his old coach Bill Callahan purposely lost Super Bowl XXXVII.
Appearing on Pro Football Talk on NBC Sports Network, Brown was asked by Erik Kuselias if he believes Callahan was just incompetent, or if he believes Callahan was actively trying to lose the Super Bowl. Brown chose the latter.

“I can’t say the man was incompetent because he was far from that,” Brown said. “You only leave me with one other choice so I’ll have to go ahead and take the latter of those two choices.”

Brown said that after preparing on Monday through Thursday before the Super Bowl for a run-first offense, Callahan sprung a new game plan on his players, a pass-first game plan that, according to Brown, Callahan knew would cost the Raiders the game.

“Why would you change the game plan so close to the game if you know the negative repercussions of that could cost you the game?” Brown said.
These allegations by Brown — which were bolstered today by another player on that team, Jerry Rice — are stunning. So far, Callahan hasn’t responded. But he needs to speak out and give his side of this story. Because he’s being accused by two of his greatest players of taking the Silver and Black to the Super Bowl, and then committing the greatest sporting scandal since the 1919 Black Sox.
 
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2002 Raiders coaches will face inevitable questions about Tim Brown’s accusations

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More and more Raiders players are chiming in on receiver Tim Brown’s accusation regarding former coach Bill Callahan’s motivation for switching the offensive game plan two days before the start of Super Bowl XXXVII.

Eventually, members of the 2002 Raiders coaching staff will face questions about the situation.

Cowboys offensive coordinator Bill Callahan declined to address the situation at the Senior Bowl on Tuesday. But that was before Hall of Famer Jerry Rice corroborated Brown’s views — and before Brown elaborated on them during an appearance on Tuesday’s Pro Football Talk. (Here’s the full transcript.) At some point, Callahan’s silence becomes almost as damning as an admission.

Other members of the 2002 Raiders staff likely can expect to face questions, sooner or later. Senior offensive assistant Marc Trestman was hired last week to coach the Bears; per Paul Gutierrez of CSNBayArea.com, Trestman also declined comment on Tuesday. Bears offensive coordinator Aaron Kromer served as assistant offensive line coach on Callahan’s staff, and Bears running backs coach Skip Peete was the running backs coach in Oakland.

Callahan’s staff also included an offensive assistant who was only one season removed from playing. You may have heard of him. His name is Jim Harbaugh.

And Jim Harbaugh will be spending a lot of time next week talking to the media, once the 49ers arrive in New Orleans. Though he may not appreciate fielding questions about the game plan from a 10-year-old Super Bowl, it’s better than getting another question about the fact that he’s facing his brother.
 
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Bill Callahan “outraged” by Tim Brown’s Super Bowl allegations


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It was only going to be a matter of time before newly appointed Dallas Cowboys play-caller Bill Callahan responded to allegations by former Oakland Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown that Callahan sabotaged Super Bowl XXXVII.

Brown has been outspoken this week criticizing how Callahan handled the offensive game plan heading into the game after changing their approach at the last-minute. Fellow Raiders receiver Jerry Rice even supported Brown’s allegations against Callahan.

Callahan released a statement Tuesday night saying he is “shocked” and “saddened” by the claims against him and vehemently denied any wrongdoing.

“There are many people who are disappointed by the outcome of Super Bowl XXXVII, but none more than me,” Callahan said in a statement. “While I fully understand a competitive professional football player’s disappointment when a game’s outcome doesn’t go his team’s way, I am shocked, saddened and outraged by Tim Brown’s allegations and Jerry Rice’s support of those allegations made through various media outlets over the last twenty-four hours.

“To leave no doubt, I categorically and unequivocally deny the sum and substance of their allegations. Like every game I ever coached on the professional or collegiate level, I endeavor to the best of my professional ability to position my team to win. To suggest otherwise, especially at this time when it involves the Super Bowl, is ludicrous and defamatory. I have always honored the spirit of competition that drives us to sport as children and, for the lucky few, sustains us in adulthood.

“Any suggestion that I would undermine the integrity of the sport that I love and dedicated my life to, or dishonor the commitment I made to our players, coaches and fans, is flat out wrong. I think it would be in the best interests of all including the game America loves that these allegations be retracted immediately. I want to extend my personal and my family’s deep appreciation to the coaches, players and fans who have come forward and thoughtfully spoken out against these ill-conceived allegations.”

Callahan calling the claims “defamatory” and demanding they be “retracted immediately” seem to point toward Callahan potentially pursuing legal action against Brown if the nine-time Pro Bowler doesn’t backtrack on his comments. Quarterback Rich Gannon, linebacker Bill Romanowski and tackle Lincoln Kennedy have all come to Callahan’s defense.
 
If the rumours are true about the sabotage in the SB by Callahan.. he should of re-considered the grief coming to Raider Nation and left the organisation in the same way George Contanza wanted to get fired from the Yankees..

 
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Former Raiders WR Rice backs WR Brown’s Super Bowl ’sabotage’ accusation


Former Raiders wide receiver Jerry Rice just appeared on ESPN’s NFL Live show. During a phone interview, Rice backed fellow former Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown’s accusation that coach Bill Callahan “sabotaged” the Raiders’ chances of winning the Super Bowl against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by changing the game plan the Friday before the game.

This story just keeps getting stranger by the minute, with numerous players chiming in on the subject. It’s worth noting that Jon Ritchie, the fullback on that team, also feels the same way, while linebacker Bill Romanowski, right offensive tackle Lincoln Kennedy, safety Rod Woodson and quarterback Rich Gannon disagreed with Brown’s seemingly outlandish accusation.

There will be plenty more on this as it unfolds, including any comment from Callahan, who now is with the Dallas Cowboys. Also, beat writer Jerry McDonald is working on a story for later today.

In the interim, here’s what Rice had to say:

Q: Was the game plan changed Friday before the game?
A: “Yes, it did. I was very surprised by that because you work all week long running the football, then all of a sudden on that given Friday, we decided that we were going to come out and throw the ball over 60 times. What Bill Callahan, and what Tim Brown is accusing him of is that, why would you wait until the last second to change the game plan.”

Q: In any way, do you think Callahan tried to sabotage the Raiders’ chances of winning the Super Bowl?
A: “With Tim Brown, he had been with the Raiders longer, and I recall when I first went to the Raiders, for some reason, and I don’t know why, Bill Callahan, he did not like me. He was that type of coach. Some of the things that happened, with him walking off the field during the game, not being happy about certain situations, I was very surprised that he waited until the last second, and a lot of the players, they were surprised also. So, in a way, maybe because he didn’t like the Raiders, he decided that, ‘Hey, look, maybe we should sabotage this a little bit and let Jon Gruden go out and win this one.’ ”

Q: In saying that, you’re saying that Callahan would, perhaps, risk his career to let the Bucs win?
A: “Yeah, I know exactly what I’m saying. This is a discussion that Tim and I had. Being veterans, we know that you don’t wait until the last second to change the game plan. It has a lot to do with the center, too. He was like, ‘You can’t do this to us right now,’ and maybe that was the reason why he ended up going over to Mexico and he was a no show during the Super Bowl.”

Q: So, you think Callahan’s changing the game plan prompted center Barret Robbins to go to Mexico on the Saturday before the game?
A: “Well, without a doubt because, the center is just like a quarterback on the field. He has to get all the calls right. All week long, we worked on a certain defense. Then, on that given Friday, (Callahan) decided to change the game plan to a passing game. With Barret, he was frustrated, he was, like, ‘You cannot do this to us at the last second.’ Maybe that’s the reason why he decided to not show up.”

Q: Have you and Tim Brown confronted Bill Callahan with your stance about him sabotaging the Super Bowl?
A: “We never had the opportunity. But, as a veteran and as a guy that had been around for a long time, you don’t want to question your coach at that time. But we just found that it was very unusual to change everything, when we had Tyrone Wheatley and also Charlie Garner, and we had probably the best fullback in the league with Zack Crockett. So, we had a game plan and all of a sudden you change that game plan. Basically, we didn’t know exactly was going to happen in that Super Bowl.”

Q: Just to clarify, you believe that Callahan potentially and deliberately hurt the Raiders’ chances of winning that Super Bowl?
A: “Well, this is what I’m saying. I just felt it was very unusual. Tim Brown, he was like the guy in Oakland, and if he was suspicious of something like that, I really have to believe Tim Brown because this guy was everything with the Oakland Raiders. He had been there a long, long time and this was a discussion that we had after. I just found it to be very unusual because you want to go into that situation knowing exactly what you want to do, how you want to approach that defensive opponent, and we changed everything that Friday.”
 
I find it totally hilarious that the freak show in Dallas has IRONICALLY employed Callahan as OC this week. :D

Is there another classic conspiracy story in the mix?? Al Davis death wish pact with JJ?

JFK re-run for the folks who missed it back in the day.

 
I know coaches have been reluctant to go to the Raiders last decade or so but was anyone holding a gun to Callahan's head to make him coach a team he hated?

This really is beyond a joke and just an excuse for the players responsible for the loss. Does prove that taking too many hits to the head can severely affect your brain. Brown the prime example.
 
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You know, with all this **** about Lance Armstrong, the suspicions I have of sb36, and other ****, nothing would surprise me. Having thought about it since I last read the thread. I think that sabotage may the only possible explanatiion for Brown, for such a weird outcome of that game. They smashed teams leading intot he SB, a heavy loss was certainly an unexpected outcome for me. Then, for it to all turn to ****, like it did. Maybe a seemingly illogical explanation, is the only thing Brown can think of.

I think the biggest story coming out of these articles for me is, why didn't they change the code for the plays??? I mean, if I was up against a team that wasn't coached by the guy who had built us up for the previous four years, then I would leave things as it is. But they were up aginst a team coached by Jon Gruden! ****! He probably knew Oakland's offense better than Tampa Bay's. I mean, I'm no professional football coach, but that would've been the first thing I would've addressed, once I was aware that TB was the team I was up against. :oops:
 
I know coaches have been reluctant to go to the Raiders last decade or so but was anyone holding a gun to Callahan's head to make him coach a team he hated?

This really is beyond a joke and just an excuse for the players responsible for the loss. Does prove that taking too many hits to the head can severely affect your brain. Brown the prime example.

When a pivotal member of the team decides to split the scene on the eve of the Big Dance, you know that something ain't right.
The USA is continually riddled with controversy and conspiracy in many fields. I wouldn't be in the slightest surprised if it was indeed the sabotage as stated as Tim Brown is a highly respected player as too is Jerry Rice and they wouldn't be questioning the saga that has long been a closely guarded secret in Oakland... perhaps the death of Al Davis was required before such home truths were discovered.
 
I wonder what Tim Browns agenda is here bringing it up 10 years after the fact. Why not say it once you retired, after the game or once Callahan was given the flick?

I think Callahan is an idiot for not changing the plays and terminology which gave the Bucs with Gruden a massive advantage, but I cannot believe that somebody goes through all the offseason, all the season, all the playoffs just to sabotage it at the last hurdle.
 
When a pivotal member of the team decides to split the scene on the eve of the Big Dance, you know that something ain't right.
The USA is continually riddled with controversy and conspiracy in many fields. I wouldn't be in the slightest surprised if it was indeed the sabotage as stated as Tim Brown is a highly respected player as too is Jerry Rice and they wouldn't be questioning the saga that has long been a closely guarded secret in Oakland... perhaps the death of Al Davis was required before such home truths were discovered.

No, a so called secret because it was started by Raiders fans to excuse a performance that simply wasn't up to it on the day.

Callahan had a chance to have his name up in lights forever as a SB coach, any coach would virtually give their right arm for that trophy and people are expected to believe this s**t and that Callahan threw away immortality just to help his friend? It is beyond ridiculous.

As Lincoln Kennedy said..."“Gruden gave them our complete playbook, our checks, they knew what we were doing,” Kennedy said. “They knew where we were going. That’s how they were able to have so many interceptions for touchdowns. Because honestly that was the difference in the football game.”

Or as Romanowski said.... “Guys for some reason will get on the air and crap will come out of their mouths, and I’m telling you what this is complete crap.”

Kennedy, Romanowski and Gannon would have been leaders on that team, you think they would have suspected if true.
 
Sep 6, 2005
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Tim Brown actually brought this up 10 years ago, but the media didn't bother to run with it. They are today.

Woodson is also spot on about something...with Al's death, expect more and more things to surface. For instance, the big secret about what Marcus Allen did that angered Al so much (rumored to be involving his son Mark in the drug culture).

imadodgyumpire good post, that also lends credence to Callahan sabotage theory, the neglect to change all the verbiage.
 
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Tim Brown actually brought this up 10 years ago, but the media didn't bother to run with it. They are today.
Ah fair enough. I didn't realise that.

I still can't believe that a coach would go through all the trials and tribulations of a season to chuck it all in at the last moment.
With other teammates defending Callahans motivations it seems more like a star player bitter than he only caught one ball for 9 yards in the only shot he got at the Superbowl and is looking for someone to blame.
 
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