On this date in Oakland Raiders history:
September 30, 2008
After becoming the youngest head coach in the NFL’s modern era, 31-year-old Lane Kiffin was fired after just 20 games into his career. The firing came after a 1-3 start to the season and followed a 28-18 loss to the Chargers.
Kiffin had posted a 5-15 record overall as head coach and had made waves in the organization with past comments against the franchise. Raiders owner Al Davis said that Kiffin was fired for cause, meaning that the Raiders do not plan on paying the remainder of his contract.
The Raiders promoted offensive line coach Tom Cable to interim head coach. Cable would go on to lead the Raiders to a 4-8 record the rest of the season.
Ironically enough, Kiffin was fired by USC yesterday after a 3-2 start to the season. The Trojans were thrashed by Arizona State on Saturday, 62-41, leading to Kiffin’s firing a day later.