Lane Kiffin's two-year-old grievance seeking unpaid salary he felt he was owed after being fired by the Oakland Raiders has been denied by an NFL arbitrator, a source familiar with the situation said Monday.
The Raiders' countergrievance for lawyer and arbitration fees was also denied, the source said.
Kiffin's grievance was filed through the NFL Coaches Association. He had been seeking about $2.6 million when the grievance was initially filed. But that was reduced to a demand for $333,000 after accounting for a salary offset from his previous job as coach for the Tennessee Volunteers, the source said.
Kiffin was hired before this season to coach the USC Trojans after one season at Tennessee.
Raiders owner Al Davis fired Kiffin on Sept. 30, 2008, after the Raiders' fourth game of the season "for cause."
The Raiders were 1-3 under Kiffin that season. He was 5-15 overall.
The source said that because it was such an unusual case, the ruling shouldn't raise concern among the league's coaches.
Davis claimed Kiffin made comments against the organization, which he considered a violation of his three-year, $6 million contract. Most NFL coaching contracts are guaranteed.
