The Oakland Raiders have denied reports that coach Lane Kiffin has been asked to resign.  The news was first reported on Thursday night by Adam Schefter of NFL Network, and confirmed on Friday afternoon by Chris Mortensen of ESPN.

“There is no issue here,” Raiders senior executive John Herrera said.  “There was never an issue here.  There’s nothing to it.”

Of course, that’s what the team said a year ago, when Schefter reported that head coach Art Shell was getting the shoe and the team called Schefter a “false rumor monger.”  (It was also the name of Schefter’s team in the 2007 PFT Media Fantasy Challenge.)

So when it comes to outright denials, we trust nothing that any team says.