Raiders Dismiss Turner After Two Poor Seasons

Al Davis preaches winning, and for three seasons now the Oakland Raiders have done the opposite.

Davis made his third coaching change in five years Tuesday, hoping the firing of Norv Turner will bring back the winning ways of his once-proud franchise.

“We want to win. The Raider fans deserve it. The Raider players deserve it, even my organization deserves it,” Davis said in a conference call after meeting with Turner. “You have to win, and you have to win with a vision for the Super Bowl. That’s our passion here.

“I just didn’t feel the fit was right, and I think he agreed with me.”

The 53-year-old Turner, who had a year remaining on his contract worth about $1.75 million, knew his job was in jeopardy for the last two months. He struggled to get the most out of star receiver Randy Moss and an offense that also included quarterback Kerry Collins, receiver Jerry Porter and running back LaMont Jordan. The Raiders managed only one victory in their division during Turner’s tenure.

Oakland lost its final six games and eight of nine to finish 4-12, one fewer victory than Turner produced in his first season. The Raiders have strung together three straight losing seasons for the first time since Davis came aboard in 1963 to coach and eventually own the team.

“I don’t think this was a surprise to anyone. It was speculated over the last two months,” Turner said. “I wanted to be here, and you take a job with the idea of doing a good job, getting the job done and being successful.”

Davis is left looking for another coach. He ousted Bill Callahan after the 2003 season, a year removed from the Raiders’ 48-21 Super Bowl loss to Tampa Bay.

Potential successors to Turner include Baltimore offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, Raven quarterback coach Rick Neuheisel, former Raider coach and current NFL vice president Art Shell, and Fresno State Coach Pat Hill, who has NFL experience.

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Washington Redskin assistant Gregg Williams signed a three-year contract to remain with the team, a move that solidifies his status as the heir apparent to Coach Joe Gibbs.

Williams had been considered a top prospect for several vacant NFL head coaching positions, but his family is happily settled in the Washington area, and owner Dan Snyder has the deep pockets to ensure that Williams remains one of the highest-paid assistants in the league.

FoxSports.com reported that Williams’ deal is worth nearly $8 million.

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John Collins joined the Cleveland Browns from the NFL office with the reputation of being a strong negotiator in the boardroom.

Less than two years later, he left without saying a word.

Collins resigned Tuesday as the club’s president, ending a late-season power struggle in Cleveland’s front office that outraged already disgusted Brown fans and nearly led to the firing of General Manager Phil Savage.

Brown owner Randy Lerner, hoping to put the focus back on football, capped a few bizarre days of rumors and turmoil by releasing a statement in which he said Collins had resigned and Savage and Coach Romeo Crennel would remain in their current roles. Lerner will assume Collins’ duties until a new president is hired.

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The Detroit Lions have contacted Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary about their vacant head coaching job.

Singletary, an assistant with the San Francisco 49ers, said the Lions have spoken to him but an interview has not yet been scheduled.

He also has been mentioned as a potential candidate for the Green Bay Packers’ vacant head coaching job, but Singletary said the Packers have not contacted him.

This is Singletary’s first season as the assistant head coach/linebacker coach under 49er Coach Mike Nolan. Before that, he spent two years as the Ravens’ inside linebackers coach. Nolan was defensive coordinator in Baltimore at the time.

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The Minnesota Vikings began their search for a head coach, planning an interview with defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell and lining up other candidates from throughout the league.

Kansas City offensive coordinator Al Saunders arrived in Minneapolis to talk with owner Zygi Wilf, President Mark Wilf and others in the ownership group and front office who will be part of the process. Philadelphia offensive coordinator Brad Childress was also reportedly at Winter Park for an interview.

Saunders, who has been in charge of the Chiefs’ powerful offense since 2001, has drawn interest from other teams too, including his club about replacing the retired Dick Vermeil.

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The New Orleans Saints were given permission to interview New York Jet defensive coordinator Donnie Henderson for their head coaching vacancy, a person familiar with the situation said on condition of anonymity.

Jim Haslett was fired as Saint coach Monday after a 3-13 season that included the team’s being displaced from New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

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The Houston Texans have obtained permission from the San Diego Chargers to interview offensive coordinator Cam Cameron about their vacant head coaching job. The Texans fired Dom Capers on Monday after Houston finished with an NFL-worst 2-14 record.... Joe Vitt, who served as interim coach of the St. Louis Rams for the last 11 games of the season, has checked into a hospital for treatment of a lingering staph infection. Vitt was expected to be hospitalized for at least a few days, a team spokesman said.... Cleveland rookie receiver Braylon Edwards had successful surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right knee and faces months of rehabilitation. Edwards, the third overall pick in last year’s draft, injured his knee trying to make a leaping catch in the Browns’ Dec. 4 game against Jacksonville. Edwards tore his anterior cruciate ligament when his knee buckled awkwardly to the inside after he landed stiff-legged on an incompletion. He sat out the Browns’ final four games, and had to wait until swelling in his knee subsided before he could have surgery.