Sports fans’ attitudes on their favorite teams and games are weird. We don’t want our teams to be boring, but when they try something new and approach the games and decisions in a way no one has before, we assume it’s a bad idea until we are proven wrong. In Las Vegas, Mark Davis is trying something strange and I am not sure it is as crazy as the social media echo chamber swears it is.
You won’t catch me defending Jim Gray as some sort of football expert or coach whisperer. In fact, I am not a fan of turning to Gray to help determine the future of the Raiders at all, but I don’t think the idea of using the advice of a prominent, long-tenured member of the media is entirely absurd.
I’ll be honest, outside of hanging out with Tom Brady, I am not even sure I know what it is that Jim Gray does…or ever did for that matter. Prior to The Decision in 2010, I can’t remember ever having seen his face or heard his name. In the years since, we have all come to agree that participating in the Gray-created special is one of the dumbest things LeBron James and his team have ever done.
Kudos to Gray though. He parlayed a poorly-received TV special into being best friends with the most iconic American athlete since Michael Jordan. That has come with access and influence that he is ready to put to use.
The Davis family has a reputation amongst not just fans, but fellow NFL owners. They are nuts! They will do and try things that other members of the league’s traditionally risk-averse ownership class will not. It makes sense that this grand experiment is happening in Las Vegas.
Two years ago, the email leak that eventually cost Jon Gruden his job showed something else interesting. ESPN’s Adam Schefter was letting the Washington front office approve a story before he reported it and even referred to the team’s then-president Bruce Allen as “Mr. Editor.”
It was unseemly. There is no denying that, but if we learned anything from Schefter’s defense of the incident, it is that reporting is a transactional business at that level. Having information is important, but protecting relationships to ensure that the information flow never stops is even more important.
Mark Davis is crazy for seeking the advice of Gray specifically, not for relying on what a reporter can tell him about the people he is considering for the job. In fact, if word got out that Davis had called Schefter or Ian Rapaport or Jay Glazer, the negative reaction would largely be reserved for the reporter. We would praise Davis for using every tool at his disposal.
There is a reason that ESPN rewarded Schefter and his NBA counterpart Adrian Wojnarowski with big contract extensions last year. Fans want information, and in the age of social media, they want the information before the event reporters are covering even happens.
The men and women in these jobs make mistakes. They can be intentionally mislead when it benefits their sources to have inaccurate information get out. Being a high profile reporter covering any sport comes with a lot of risk for your credibility.
Overall though, the public largely considers these insiders reliable and views them as well-connected to what is going on around the league. Surely, the same can be said for the way owners and GMs view them too.
Any connected and respected NFL reporter that accepts a job advising a coaching search for a team would almost certainly have to resign from their current role. Their reputation as unbiased would be forever compromised. That doesn’t mean that it’s a terrible idea for either the reporter or the team involved.
There is money in having information. That is true in any business. If you are the one with the information, you have to make sure the price is worth the cost. If you are the one seeking information, you have to make sure you are paying the right guy. I don’t think the Raiders are paying the right guy. That is the only part of this idea that is truly crazy.
On the field, football is a physical business. For Mark Davis and his peers, it’s an information business. The Raiders, just like the Patriots, Michigan and Astros, are seeking information that will help them make the best decision and put them in position to win.
Seeking the advice of Jim Gray is the latest example of a grand Raiders’ tradition. In theory, the plan is interesting and has the potential to yield tremendous benefit. The execution though, is goofy as hell. Someone will do it much better in the future.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
