Tim Brown Believe Callahn "Sabotaged" Superbowl 37

[arsenal6106]

Tim Brown Believes Bill Callahan 'Sabotage' Led Raiders Loss In Super Bowl XXXVII To Buccaneers

“We all called it sabotage, because Callahan and Gruden were good friends. And Callahan had a big problem with the Raiders, you know, hated the Raiders. You know, [he] 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," Brown told SiriusXM NFL Radio, via SFGate.com. "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.

"

And you have Jerry Rice pretty much having Tim Brown's back on this one.

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[Jack_John_Mark]

No way man.......Bill Callahan was a great man

 

[MHSL82]

I heard on the radio when they were discussing this that the Raiders kept all the same audible signals and other communicative gestures the same as when Gruden was there. Gruden knew whether the plays would be runs or passes and taught his defense those signals. Lazy? Naïve? Truthful? don't know.

 

[Arete Tzu]

I heard on the radio when they were discussing this that the Raiders kept all the same audible signals and other communicative gestures the same as when Gruden was there. Gruden knew whether the plays would be runs or passes and taught his defense those signals. Lazy? Naïve? Truthful? don't know.

funny I was watching something on NFL network that covered that superbowl, and John Lynch talked about how they just knew what was coming on almost every play.

 

[KingFlea]

I actually think there might be some truth to it.

Then again, I've never cared for Callahan. Always come off as being useless to me.

 

[tomikcon1971]

There are a lot of conflicting statements out there.....not sure if we'll ever know the truth. Also not sure why this took 10 years to come out.

 

[yossarian]

So let me get this straight, an NFL head coach is willing to basically give up his membership in a very elite group of head coaches (super bowl winners), just because of his loyalty to the opposing coach and his hatred of the team he is working for? And wasn't Jim Harbaugh the quarterbacks coach that year? There's no way in hell Callahan would do that and no way Harbaugh wouldn't have said anything as competitive as he is. Rich Gannon said that they got outcoached and outplayed, it's the dumbest allegation I've heard in a long time.

 

[Yadahell]

Its interesting that Rice thinks Callahan's switch from a run friendly game plan to a pass friendly game plan was the reason Barrett Robbins went AWAL the night before the Super Bowl that year.

 

[yossarian]

Its interesting that Rice thinks Callahan's switch from a run friendly game plan to a pass friendly game plan was the reason Barrett Robbins went AWAL the night before the Super Bowl that year.

Robbins had serious mental health issues.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

So this story is pretty strange. When I first heard it, I thought it was utter nonsense, just insane ramblings from Brown. Impossible for a coach to blow his biggest chance, one that would put him to history and guarantee him work for the next decade at least.

But when you heard a number of players coming out in support - Rice, Ritchie, Garner at least, it makes you wonder. At the very least, there was almost pure hatred between the coach and players, and the way people talk about Callahan it *almost* seems like he'd be a big enough asshole to do something like this.

But all that said, the biggest point against it is......why would he wait until the Super Bowl to sabotage the team? Why not just do it in one of the earlier playoff games. So in the end it still seems impossible. And past that, the passive-aggressive ("I'm not sayin....I'm just sayin") claims that Callahan caused Barrett Robbins to lose it is just classless and over the line, to me that almost seems worse than the claims of sabotage, saying he was largely responsible for ruining a guy's life.

 

[sjballer03]

Don't forget that the team turned on him during the following season resulting in a 4-12 record. There is definitely some truth to the accusations, but I believe it has to do more with his stupidity and stubbornness than actual malice.

 

[MHSL82]

There are a lot of conflicting statements out there.....not sure if we'll ever know the truth. Also not sure why this took 10 years to come out.

Good point. Maybe because this is the first time since the Raiders that a team near the Bay is in the Superbowl? And Harbaugh is coach? Maybe John Harbaugh had Brown release the story now to get Harbaugh involved and distracted?

 

[yossarian]

Well, as one person on the radio this morning put it, who was the owner of this team? Who basically controlled everything? It's not unheard of to change game plans, and I really seriously doubt that if it was SO obvious to everyone that this was going on that Rich Gannon, Jim Harbaugh, and Al Davis would have sat for it for a second. Did Callahan make Gannon throw the pick?

 

[Jikkle]

Either way it doesn't speak well on Callahan.

He either sabotaged the game or was so stupid that the players couldn't possibly believe anyone could be that stupid and had to be trying to lose the game.

 

[Brasky]

Either way it doesn't speak well on Callahan.

He either sabotaged the game or was so stupid that the players couldn't possibly believe anyone could be that stupid and had to be trying to lose the game.

But it was the PLAYERS who were stupid!

 

[MHSL82]

Well, as one person on the radio this morning put it, who was the owner of this team? Who basically controlled everything? It's not unheard of to change game plans, and I really seriously doubt that if it was SO obvious to everyone that this was going on that Rich Gannon, Jim Harbaugh, and Al Davis would have sat for it for a second. Did Callahan make Gannon throw the pick?

According to the players it was 36 hours before the game (some say 48) - THAT is basically unheard of for a Superbowl. If you have evidence to the contrary, let me know.

Having said that, changing gameplans so late is not conclusive evidence of sabotage. I'd need to know the reason for the gameplan switch, but I'm sure Callahan, if pressed, could present a buyable reason, even if it's just BS. The week before, they passed just 3 times fewer than in the SB (or so stated on the radio) - of course, maybe the bulk of the passing was early and that was the problem in getting behind, don't know.

If someone buys the premise that he changed the gameplan in order to sabotage the SB, then one could surely believe that Callahan called or allowed to be called an ill-advised play. But then that would require Gannon to not know it was a bad play, Callahan have the foresight of at least an incompletion, and the OC would have to ignore, too. I don't think Callahan is such a genius that he'd both project a bad play that neither the OC or QB would see. Not that QBs can always audible so late.

 

[threelittleturds]

If this is true, I imagine it also kills Gruden's chance of getting a coaching job again... say someone hires him next year, the fans would have to be like.... "Great, now we just need someone in the other conference to hire Callahan so we can win a Super Bowl."

 

[NinerSickness]

What a dumb accusation. He had nothing to gain by trying to lose. I can't believe Rice supported this claim.

 

[ChrisPozz]

What a dumb accusation. He had nothing to gain by trying to lose. I can't believe Rice supported this claim.

After watching him on ESPN for a number of months now, it really doesn't surprise me that he'd support Brown's story.

 

[Shanemansj13]

Don't believe a word of this. They are just mad they lost SB still, he woukd have no personal gain in losing...unless he was betting.