OAKLAND, Calif. | There was an Al Davis sighting around here not too long ago.</p><p>Sitting in the passenger seat of a golf cart parked between two practice fields, Davis, the 79-year-old Raiders managing partner, watched his team work out against the San Francisco 49ers at Oakland&#8217;s training camp in nearby Napa.</p><p>Davis, who uses a walker to get around these days, chatted with 49ers general manager Scot McCloughan, whose father, Kent, is a longtime Raiders scout and former Oakland cornerback, and he spoke with other Raiders personnel.</p><p>When practice ended, Davis, rarely seen in public anymore, vanished &#8212; most likely to his office to watch video of the workout.</p><p>There is no doubt Davis is still in charge of the Raiders, even at his age, even if he&#8217;s barely visible to those on the outside and had not addressed reporters for more than a year until he issued a statement after Gene Upshaw&#8217;s death last week.</p><p>&#8220;This is still his baby,&#8221; said Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown, now a Raiders assistant coach. &#8220;He&#8217;s going to run it as he sees fit. By bringing in new players, by bringing in new coaches, Mr. Davis will do anything there is to help us win.&#8221;</p><p>In other words, &#8220;Just Win, Baby.&#8221;</p><p>That may be the watchword of the Raiders, but the franchise hasn&#8217;t lived up to the mantra in recent years. Since losing to Tampa Bay in the Super Bowl following the 2002 season, Oakland is a league-worst 19-61 and has gone through four head coaches. But Davis isn&#8217;t going anywhere, and without an apparent succession plan in place, there&#8217;s little indication the franchise will pull out of its malaise.</p><p>&#8220;Just Win, Baby&#8221; might ring hollow today to those outside the Raiders organization, but those three words have defined the rebellious and contentious Davis for more than 40 years.</p><p>Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff distinctly remembers the first time he heard Davis utter the phrase.</p><p>It was training camp 1965. A brash, young Davis, the club&#8217;s coach and general manager, stood at the front of a meeting room, glared at a collection of trembling players and growled.</p><p>&#8220;I was just a rookie, and that&#8217;s all he cared about and all he talked about &#8230; &#8216;Whatever it takes to win&#8217; &#8230; &#8216;Just Win, Baby&#8217; &#8230;. and he got guys who had that demeanor to pull it off,&#8221; recalled Biletnikoff, who later would become MVP of Super Bowl XI.</p><p>Coach Tom Flores heard the expression during the trophy presentation after Davis&#8217; Los Angeles Raiders beat Washington in Super Bowl XVIII.</p><p>&#8220;The team was teasing him about the size of the ring they&#8217;d be getting,&#8221; said Flores, head coach of the last two Raiders Super Bowl champions, &#8220;and all he said was, &#8216;Just Win, Baby.&#8217;&#8221;</p><p>&#8226; &#8226; &#8226;</p><p>That celebration in Tampa nearly a quarter-century ago was one of the last hurrahs for Davis and the Raiders.</p><p>Except for a brief blip during 2000-02 when Rich Gannon quarterbacked the Raiders to three AFC West titles and a fifth Super Bowl appearance, the club has deteriorated from one of the most dominant franchises in pro sports history to one of the most ridiculed.</p><p>&#8220;The mystique right now is just a memory,&#8221; said Flores, now the analyst for the Raiders&#8217; radio broadcasts.</p><p>During an incredible run from 1963 to 1986, no team in the NFL could match the Raiders&#8217; supremacy under Davis&#8217; heavy-handed reign, as head coach during the first three seasons and as the club&#8217;s managing partner ever since.