Sarkisian had been a Raiders quarterbacks coach under Norv Turner before leaving to USC. He was brought in for interviews, impressed the owner, and was ultimately extended an offer to become the Raiders head coach.

Sarkisian went home and thought about it, and much to the Raiders' surprise, he turned it down.

It was then that Davis went after Lane Kiffin, the co-coordinator along with Sarkisian who had come along during the interview process as a potential Raiders offensive coordinator.

If the Raiders wanted to inflict any professional pain upon Sarkisian for the slight, they did so with the hiring of Jim Michalczik as their offensive line coach under Cable.

Michalczik had left the University of California to join Sarkisian, but had yet to sign his contract.

Cable was looking for a line coach, and Cal has been one of the nation's top rushing teams for the past several years, having produced seven 1,000-yard rushers and one 2,000-yard rusher.

Michalczik cited relocation concerns as well as a chance to coach in the NFL. Although Michalczik and Cable have never coached together, they're both from Washington, are friends and have many of the same beliefs regarding line play.

Davis said he wanted the Raiders to incorporate more power blocking into a strict zone blocking scheme this year.

--A year after hoping to claim quarterback Bruce Gradkowski off waivers when he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Raiders got their chance.

Gradkowski, waived by the Cleveland Browns, was claimed by the Raiders to compete for a reserve quarterback job behind starter JaMarcus Russell.

A one-time favorite of Jon Gruden who fell out of favor, Gradkowski started 11 games for Tampa Bay as a rookie in 2006 and earned points for his competitive nature. He passed for 1,661 yards with nine touchdowns and nine interceptions, but found himself buried on the depth chart the following season.

Although Gradkowski doesn't possess the sort of deep throwing arm the Raiders normally desire, he has considerably more fire than Andrew Walter, the classic dropback passer who fell to third on the depth chart late in 2008 behind Marques Tuiasosopo.

Tuiasosopo is an unrestricted free agent who said he hopes to return to the Raiders.

--While the Raiders were introducing Tom Cable as their head coach, a handful of players milled about as they came to the facility on their own for offseason workouts.

--The biggest surprise is that defensive end Derrick Burgess was among them.

Burgess has stayed away from the facility the past few years in the offseason, appearing only for the mandatory minicamp and training in Mississippi.

When asked why he doesn't attend voluntary camps, Burgess responded in the past, "Because they're voluntary."

One of the NFL's leading sack artists, Burgess' sack totals have fallen from 16 to 11 to 8 to just 3.5 in 2008 as he missed six full games and wasn't at full strength in several others due to a triceps tear.

Burgess believed he was due a contract extension which would put him more in the realm of the Dwight Freeneys of the NFL world, only to have talks evaporate when Mike Lombardi was fired as a senior executive.

The Raiders privately are hoping Burgess comes up big in his contract year. He is due for free agency in 2010.

--One of the reasons Lechler's price to the Raiders could be higher than anticipated is his dismay over how an issue was handled on the team charter home following a 31-10 win over Denver.

According to a published report, punter Shane Lechler was punched in the face by defensive tackle Terdell Sands, putting names to an incident both current and former players had confirmed without getting specific about the combatants.

Sands was never suspended, playing the next week.

It remains to be seen whether Sands will escape scrutiny for reasons other than a fight on the team plane this offseason.

Signed following the 2006 season to a contract extension with a $4 million signing bonus before going on the free agent market, Sands has not seized a starting job nor distinguished himself as a run-stopper on one of the NFL's worst run defenses the past two years.

He already had his deal downsized last year, and is due $1.3 million in salary and a $1.9 million roster bonus.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "If you take five touchdowns in two games, and whittle it down to two touchdowns in 16 games apiece, we've got two guys who are catching eight touchdowns apiece," -- Raiders owner Al Davis with some extremely confusing calculations designed to illustrate why receivers Johnnie Lee Higgins and Chaz Schilens should have been primary targets earlier in the season.