SAN DIEGO -- He's a prickly perfectionist with a Tony Soprano-sized temper, and everyone in Raider Nation regards him as the lovable, de facto den mother who prods his team to glorious heights.
Everyone, that is, except the men who actually have to play on the same team with Rich Gannon, whose hard-core approach to football is a source of much eye-rolling in the Oakland locker room.
Heaven knows no Raiders player wants to come out and say anything critical about the league MVP, whose exceptional performance this season was largely responsible for the franchise's first Super Bowl berth in 19 years. They appreciate what Gannon does, even if they sometimes aren't thrilled with his methodology.
It was one thing when Gannon, after signing with the team before the 1999 season, squelched the lunchtime fun in the Raiders' training facility, confiscating pool cues and balls and banishing video games. His reproachful speeches in team meetings and tantrums during practice further alienated the rank and file.
"The guy just jumps on people's asses, sometimes for the littlest s---," one Raiders offensive player confided during Wednesday's Super Bowl media session at the team's hotel in La Jolla. "It wears on guys, and it's definitely a topic of discussion around here."
Said a former Raiders player: "There aren't a lot of guys in that locker room who want to hang out with the guy. That's why they call him 'Red-Ass Rich.'"
Ouch.
To his credit, Gannon knows when to contain his wrath. For example, neither of his future Hall of Fame targets, wideouts Jerry Rice and Tim Brown, typically has to worry about getting an upbraiding from Gannon.
"No, he won't say s--- to Jerry or Tim," another Raiders offensive player said Wednesday. "But if one of the younger guys blows an assignment or jumps offsides, look out. It's always everyone's fault but [Gannon's]."
During one late-season game, Gannon became angered when a younger player got confused and altered his route by a couple of yards. After reaching back for the ball and narrowly missing the reception, the player returned to the sideline and, according to a witness, was told by Gannon, "Hey, you're f------ up my day."
Sometimes even veteran players feel the sting. According to one former Raiders offensive player, "In our game at Denver last year, Jerry was supposed to run a seam route, but he saw that the middle was open and broke it off to the inside. Rich saw that he was open, but he still threw the ball (incomplete) to where Jerry was supposed to have been, just to prove a point."
Consider that two years ago, when players exchanged Christmas gifts, one offensive starter no longer with the team presented Gannon with a vibrator.
OK, so that was pretty funny. But Gannon's ultra-intense aura is not a laughing matter for his teammates. Why do you think it was that, after the Raiders' AFC Championship triumph over the Tennessee Titans, the mood in the postgame locker room was restrained and muted? It all seeped down from the quarterback, who was so instantly focused on the Super Bowl that he couldn't enjoy the victory. The other veterans were similarly nonplussed, and no younger player dared whoop it up, for fear of incurring the quarterback's wrath.
One Raiders player joked that if the team beats the Bucs on Sunday, "Rich probably won't celebrate, because he'll be too focused on the Pro Bowl."
If Gannon hadn't played so brilliantly during the past four seasons, going from journeyman backup to full-fledged star, there might have been some sort of locker room revolt. He could have been vulnerable after former coach Jon Gruden, his biggest supporter, bolted for Tampa Bay last February; or after Gannon himself skipped a pair of minicamps because of dissatisfaction with his contract (it was later renegotiated); or after he chose not to join the majority of his teammates in an orchestrated walkout when NFL officials visited the Raiders' training camp -- a sign of the bitterness they harbored over the tuck rule replay reversal in Oakland's playoff defeat to the Patriots last season. One player says Gannon couldn't have participated in the walkout because "no one even told him it was happening."
Gannon, however, remained the team's unquestioned leader, and now the Raiders are on the verge of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. It's enough to make his teammates forgive him for his tightly wound personality and penchant for abrasive outbursts. As one veteran says, "We may not all love Rich, but we love Rich, if you know what I mean."
I do know what he means: Gannon is what he is, and he's the best at what he is, and I'm pretty sure if I were to call him right now and read him this column, his response would be something like, "Yo, bro, it's not an encounter group. If those guys don't want to get yelled at, they should start paying more attention to detail and do their jobs."
Remember what Tony Soprano said to Christopher Moltisanti? "You don't have to love me, but you WILL RESPECT ME."
Rest assured that Gannon has the respect of each and every teammate -- even when they're messing up his day.
