Interim Raiders HC Tony Sparano had the team bury a football at practice today after an 0-4 start (via @RAIDERS) pic.twitter.com/2FlXKpIkWB
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) October 6, 2014
Tony Sparano has the unenviable task of being the interim head coach of the Oakland Raiders, a franchise which is so adrift that it’s currently making the Jaguars look competent and the Jets look only mildly awful.
So, as there’s unlikely to be any great infusion of talent to spark a turnaround (with all due respect to Kenbrell Thompkins), Sparano did the next best thing. He held a meaningless symbolic ceremony where he buried a football to announce a fresh start.
Sparano, whose team has lost a league-high 10 straight games dating back to last November, had the Raiders bury a football at practice to signify that the Raiders are moving on.
“We’ve got to look at how Oakland is beating Oakland,” Sparano said. “We’re doing things faster, we’ve changed practice schedules, and we’ve changed a ton of things right now.”
Of course, the gesture may be about wiping the slate clean but just look at that image. The Raiders are literally holding a funeral for football. There is no better summation of the Raiders season. This picture is really worth a thousand words.
