Chucky is such a mad scientist, so writes Michael Lombardi, that he hates players.

It’s difficult to be a successful coach in any sport if you hate players. But being a player-hater is the charge against Chucky from former Gruden confidant Mike Lombardi, who now writes for NationalFootballPost.com.

Lombardi worked with Chucky in Philadelphia when Chucky was their offensive coordinator, and in Oakland where Chucky was once the Raiders’ head coach. Lombardi claims not only does Chucky hate players, he is so impatient that cannot be satisfied with any player on the roster.

When I joined him in Oakland, I learned more about him as a person and coach. What came to the forefront was that Jon is never happy. He can never love his players — especially his quarterback. Jon always wants new, even when new is not necessarily better. He was instrumental in returning the Raiders to their glory days with the help of some key players, notably Rich Gannon, then went off to Tampa to have all the power and ability to run his own show. That’s where his downfall started.

This sort of reinforces what Joe has come to believe about Chucky: That given a very strong general manager (or owner like Al Davis) who forces Chucky to do certain things, Chucky can be an excellent coach. When there are no checks and balances for Chucky, he’s like a drowning man flapping and wailing away on the surface trying to keep his head above choppy waters.