It's fitting that Jon Gruden's nickname is "Chucky," and not just because of those scowls he wears while coaching his NFL team.

Since he dominated, obliterated and embarrassed the Raiders with his Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, Oakland has become the NFL's version of a horror show.

The coaching changes, especially the most recent one, the head-scratching free-agent signings, paranoia and all-around weirdness that have come out of Oakland Raider headquarters since February in 2002 have been as ridiculous as the plot in "Child's Play," the movie in which "Chucky" was born.

In case you missed it, Chucky was a toy, but he originally was a human serial strangler. In the early moments of "Child's Play," he is on the run from police. He gets shot by a detective, but before dying he has his spirit transferred to a doll via a voodoo ritual. The doll then comes to life and predictably kills people, all while standing about as high as a standard-size teddy bear, until it meets its own death in a formulaic end to a horror movie.

It truly was beyond words.

Kind of like the current state of the Raiders franchise.

There's really no better explanation for Oakland's ineptitude than to say it has been cursed by something, and in this case, Chucky. What franchise, operating with clear minds, would hire five different head coaches in fewer than six seasons? Would sign receiver Javon Walker, with obvious damaged knees and declining skills, to a $55 million contract? That's quite the price to pay for a player who has racked up four catches for 52 yards so far this season. Wait, I forgot to mention that two of those catches gave the Raiders first downs.

Or how about making Tommy Kelly, coming off a serious knee injury, the highest paid defensive tackle in NFL history? He isn't having a John Abraham-like season (seven sacks already), but he does have 12 total tackles in four games.

What's most troubling is how Oakland's coaching and personnel problems have impacted the Raiders' performance on the field. Oakland is an abysmal 20-64 since losing to Chucky in Super Bowl XXXVII. They are 5-28 against AFC West opponents during that time, finishing in last place in the division in each of the last five seasons. Matt Millen is vilified for his tenure as the Detroit Lions' team president, and rightfully so. But even the Lions have outperformed the Raiders in the last five-plus seasons. Detroit is 26-58, six games better than Oakland.

Owner Al Davis gets most of the blame for the Raiders' decline. People say he's lost his fastball, and for that matter, his curveball, slider and change-up. He is the ultimate decision maker for Oakland, so the Raiders' current woeful state falls directly on him.