Losman Signs With Raiders, Opens the Door For Jim Fassel?

At one point in time, Jim Fassel wrote a letter to Al Davis expressing interest in being the head coach of the Oakland Raiders. Ultimately, the Raiders stuck with Tom Cable.

Since then, Cable has kept the Raiders in contention for the a top five draft pick, punched one of his coaches in the face, and helped in the digression of the development of former first round draft pick JaMarcus Russell.

Fassel on the other hand lead the Las Vegas Locomotives to an improbable win in the UFL's inaugural championship game; arguably the most underrated football game of 2009. During the season and into the championship game, Fassel helped develop another former first round draft pick, J.P Losman. In the inaugural UFL season, Losman completed 62.1% of his passes for 1,386 yards, 9 touchdowns, and two interceptions.

Losman's development also earned him a one year contract with the Raiders. With Tom Cable heading out the door, and JaMarcus Russell certainly looking like a bust, one has to wonder whether or not the Losman signing opens the door for Al Davis accepting Jim Fassel's request to coach the Raiders.

Though his stint as Ravens offensive coordinator was atrocious, Fassel still has a pretty good resume as a head coach, and he helped Kerry Collins, a first round QB considered by many to be a bust when he signed with the Giants in 1999, develop into a star NFL QB. Now that Fassel has helped revitalize the career by winning a championship in the UFL and revitalizing the career of J.P Losman, one has to wonder whether or not he's earned the chance to help bring the Raiders back.

Let's face it, no top tier coaches are going to take this job, and a lot of prized coordinators will likely wait out the market rather than take on the "suicide" job of coaching the Raiders. Fassel works well with veterans, and who knows, maybe he can turn JaMarcus Russell into something other than the laughing stock of the NFL.

I don't think it's a long shot, I think this signing is the first step in bringing Jim Fassel to the Oakland Raiders for the 2010 season.

Jim Fassel, Las Vegas Locos, Win 1st UFL Championship

Many people in charge of the UFL, owners, investors, coaches, players, and marketers, considered the UFL's first season a "dress rehearsal." That's their excuse for the lack of attendance, visibility, and quality of game for the first season.

In the UFL's defense, I did see a sign for their product hanging near Angels Stadium in Anaheim during the ALDS and (I believe) ALCS.

I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't pulling for the UFL. I'd also be a liar if I said I watched a game after the opener.

But I did watch today's UFL Championship Game between the undefeated Florida Tuskers (lead by Michael Pittman, Brooks Bollinger, and head coach Jim Haslett) and the Las Vegas Locomotives (lead by J.P Losman and head coach Jim Fassel). And let me be completely honest, unbiased, and straight forward; it was the best football game that no one saw in 2009.

That doesn't mean it was better than Colts vs Patriots, Lions vs Brown (though that game was blacked out so I don't think anyone saw it), or Tennessee vs Alabama, but it was a very, very good game.

Well played too. And let's be fair to the UFL, they didn't exactly get a preseason, offseason, or a chance to build team chemistry before the opening game; which is probably why the UFL looked so awful the first week.

The teams I watched today had more chemistry than most college teams, and college teams usually have better chemistry than most pro teams, so fill in the blanks. The receivers and QB's were in rhythm, the defenses played pretty good man to man coverage, and the offensive lines were adequate. The kickers made the kicks they'd make in the NFL, the punters had average hang times, and overall, the game liked like a middle-end NFL game. It wasn't the Colts vs Pats, it wasn't even the Lions vs Browns, but it was an entertaining game.

At the end of the day, it was J.P Losman who got retribution, not Brooks Bollinger. It was DeDe Dorsey who won the MVP of the Championship, not Michael Pittman or Tatum Bell. It was also Jim Fassel, finally winning a championship in a decade that saw no coach fall from top to bottom harder.

So now there's a league of four teams worth of NFL free agents ready to be signed, loose, and available to play immediately. That's the point of the UFL, not to compete with the NFL, but to complement it. It's why the AFL and XFL failed, and why NFL Europe should have played in the Fall. The UFL is smart; it's not try to be the NFL, it's not trying to beat the NFL, it's trying to capitalize on a football hungry market by creating a league where free agents, known and unknown, young and old, can build or rebuild their careers.

The UFL will succeed. I hope it does at least. It should make the game more intimate. Go to smaller venues. Instead of Giants Stadium, play at Columbia or Hofstra. Instead of the Home Depot Center, play at some SCIAC school or Fresno (if you want to keep the Redwoods North). Minor league baseball is successful in some markets because of it's intimacy, the UFL needs to do the same.

I turst the league though. They're doing well, and they're smart. The best thing that can happen to the UFL is to have it's players head to the NFL and make an impact come playoff time.

Don't you have a feeling that's going to happen.