Bill Callahan was fired by the Oakland Raiders just one year after taking them to the Super Bowl as a rookie coach.
The team announced the move Wednesday, a day after telling Callahan, 15-17 overall. He asked the Raiders to delay the official word because his son Brian's college team, UCLA, played in a bowl game Tuesday night.
Openly criticized by his players, Callahan went 4-12 this season, the Raiders' worst record since 1997.
Callahan, a seven-year NFL assistant with no previous head coaching experience, was promoted from offensive coordinator when Jon Gruden went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gruden's Bucs beat Callahan's Raiders 48-21 in the 2003 Super Bowl.
This season, though, the Raiders tied with the Chargers, Cardinals and Giants for the worst record in the NFL this year. They ended their season with a 21-14 loss Sunday at San Diego.
There was speculation for weeks that Callahan would be dismissed. The Raiders are the seventh NFL team to fire their head coach within the last week.
Several Raiders players earlier said they expected and welcomed a coaching change. Last month, Callahan called his squad ``the dumbest team in America,'' and then suspended stars Charles Woodson and Charlie Garner for the season finale for missing curfew.
Callahan faced tough circumstances this season with players in all major positions getting hurt, including quarterbacks Rich Gannon and Marques Tuiasosopo. They were among 12 players to go on injured reserve.
Still, with so many players back from an AFC championship team, Callahan acknowledged the Raiders underachieved.
Callahan, who earned US$1 million a season, just completed the second year of a two-year contract, and Davis declined a series of one-year club options that could have kept Callahan in Oakland through the 2006 season.
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