103
so Davis cut him, and Millen decamped to San Francisco
where he joined the 49ers.
Not only were there no hard feelings, the owner and
his former player stayed in touch, even in the immediate
aftermath. And, inevitably, their conversations turned
to football. The sport “was such a part of him, it was
unavoidable,” says Millen. “It’s not like he was talking
about his vacations or his golf game.”
In part because Millen was playing for a compet-
ing team, and in part because Davis cut what might
charitably be called a polarizing figure, Millen did not
advertise that he still spoke regularly with his old boss
(who didn’t believe in saying goodbye and abruptly
hung up when he’d said his piece). But talk they did,
and during one late-night conversation Davis casually
mentioned that he’d also long spoken to the man who’d
just stepped down as Niners coach, Bill Walsh—which
Millen at first thought odd. Wasn’t Walsh, longtime
coach from the team across the Bay, supposed to be
the hated enemy?
The more Millen thought about it, though, the more
sense it made. Why wouldn’t a coach avail himself of oneSPORTS ILLUSTRATED
AUGUS T 26 – SEP TEM
BER 2, 2019
AL, CAPITAN
For his first act as a
head coach, in ’63,
all Davis did was
change the Raiders’
colors and logo,
and reinvent the
1–13 losers as 10–4
contenders.