I don't believe that selecting a Viking Underground Nut Job of the Week will become a weekly award. But every now and then I'll toss it out there when the opportunity presents itself. And there are a lot of nut jobs running around in the sports world this week.

First up, you have Daniel Snyder, owner of the Washington Redskins. Joe Gibbs decided to return to NASCAR and has left the team without a coach. Not only should Snyder have seen this coming and had a short list of candidates, he has chosen to put the horse before the cart and hired new offensive and defensive coordinators without a head coach in place! No "great" coach is going to be interested the job if he will be unable to run the show. The heir apparent, former Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, was interviewed four times and then promptly fired. Yep, Snyder is a strong candidate for this week's Nut Job award.

Next up is Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones. Jones deserves consideration for having the same plastic surgeon as Michael Jackson but that's not why he's being thrown in the mix this week. ESPN's Chris Mortensen suggested during a special edition of Sunday NFL Countdown that Jones is eyeing the possibility of swinging a trade with the Dolphins for the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft. The trade would send Marion Barber to the 'Fins in return for the #1 overall pick in which Jones would select Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. Yeah, trade a Pro Bowl running back that was under-used (and obviously under-appreciated) for an unproven rookie that would command huge signing money. Jerry Jones, Nut Job candidate #2.

Our next Nut Job candidate is playing in the Super Bowl this coming Sunday. Let me introduce you to Giants offensive lineman Grey Ruegamer. What has Ruegamer done to have me place him on the short list? Um, before we go further, please send any young children away. Okay, here we go. Ruegamer admits that he once assisted in the castration of 200 young lambs. And he accomplished the task without the aid of any tools or knives or other instruments. He used his teeth.

"You grab the forelegs and pin them to the ground, and then you grab the back legs and throw them on their back," Ruegamer said. "[A]way you go. It's the way the Basques do it. . . . [Y]ou pull them out with your teeth, spit them in a bucket, next one."

All fine candidates for the VU Nut Job of the Week but there is one nut job that has been, well, nutty as a fruit cake for a long time. And that person deserves the award this week not only based on past merit but for recent events.

Earlier this week Raiders owner Al Davis asked head-coach Lane Kiffin to resign. Big Al even went as far as to write the letter himself. All Kiffin had to do was sign. Kiffin refused.

Want to know what's even crazier? There are reports that Davis is considering hiring Dennis Green to be the new head coach. Green is YouTubes nut job #1.

But back to Big Al. Think this guy has a screw loose?

Kiffin has been the Raiders' coach for one year, which followed the one-year tenure of Art Shell, which followed the two-year tenure of Norv Turner, which followed the two-year tenure of Bill Callahan. Since moving back to Oakland from L.A. in 1995, the Raiders have had six head coaches. They also had a bad boy that only "played when he wanted to play" and knew when it was time to get out. How did that work out for ya Randy?

Yep, Al Davis has taken down the once great Oakland Raider franchise. Black hole indeed.

Did I miss anyone? Let me know of any other nut jobs out there. Leave a comment.

Posted by briankeithmaas@msn.com at January 29, 2008 01:00 AM