Turner feeling the heat

They have lost three straight and five of six, are dealing with a quarterback controversy, and couldn't beat the lowly New York Jets on Sunday.

"I'm not going to lie to you and say you don't think ahead, and the players don't think ahead and everyone," Turner said Monday when asked about his job security. "Every time you go out there as a player, that tape is part of your resume. That tape is what you are. And from a standpoint of individuals, whether they're establishing a career as a young player, whether they're a guy in the middle of their career and trying to show that they're still at this level."

Davis is a perfectionist who lives by the mantra "Just win, baby!" He has fired his share of coaches and made plenty of unpopular decisions along the way. At age 76, he still attends daily practices dressed in his signature black or white sweat suits, now relying on a walker to get around the field.

Two-time Super Bowl winner Tom Flores, Mike White and Joe Bugel all were let go by Davis after losing seasons, then Bill Callahan was dismissed following the 2003 season less than a year after taking the Raiders to the Super Bowl.

Davis fired Art Shell after a 9-7 campaign in 1994, and ousted Mike Shanahan after a 1-3 start in 1989 on the heels of a 7-9 season.

Is Turner next?

A longtime Raiders fan who grew up in nearby Martinez, the offensive-minded Turner was hired as the organization's 14th head coach in January 2004 to invigorate a franchise that flopped after losing to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl.

There were big expectations for Turner to produce an immediate turnaround. When asked whether he's surprised about how things have gone during his tenure, he was realistic in his response.

"I've been through too many NFL seasons to know there are no guarantees," he said. "There's nothing guaranteed to you. We had a couple of real tough losses early, but our guys responded from those and bounced back. It's the ups and downs again of the season. But in terms of surprise, that's a word you'd use if you're naive about what this league is all about."

Turner spent nearly seven seasons as Washington Redskins coach, leading them to a 49-59-1 record and just one playoff berth from 1994-2000 before being fired with three games left in his final campaign.

For now, Turner is concentrating on the Raiders ending this thing in respectable fashion, starting Sunday against the Browns, who also have lost three in a row.

Turner said after Sunday's loss to the Jets he planned to stick with Marques Tuiasosopo as quarterback for this week's home game against Cleveland. But after his regular Monday news conference, team spokesman Mike Taylor said the coach was still evaluating the situation to determine whether Tuiasosopo or demoted starter Kerry Collins would give the team the best chance of beating the Browns.

Turner has pointed to specific players, including sacks leader Derrick Burgess, as examples of those who continue to work day after day despite the demoralizing results.

"Yeah, I think our guys as a team have prepared and gotten ready to go," Turner said. "As I said, as we all said, I'm disappointed in our production, in the offensive line and then again, how it is affected. It's not just the offensive line. When you have protection breakdowns, it can be tight ends, it can be backs, it can be the quarterback. But getting that whole thing to play at a higher level is the No. 1 issue right now for me."

Turner even came to Randy Moss' defense Monday when asked whether the superstar receiver was taking plays off and not giving his all. In his first season with the Raiders after seven tumultuous years with Minnesota, Moss has only 47 catches for 789 yards and five touchdowns -- certainly not the kind of numbers expected from a player of his caliber.

"The one thing I'll tell you, and people have opinions and all that, but Randy's competed, and he works, and he's worked with his routes, and he's stayed in it and tried to help everyone stay in the game," Turner said. "So I think his mental approach has been good."