Alameda, Calif. ? Bill Callahan went from the Super Bowl to the unemployment line in less than a year.

The Oakland Raiders announced Callahan’s firing Wednesday, just one season after he took the team within a victory of an NFL championship as a rookie head coach.

The team told Callahan a day earlier. He asked to delay the announcement because his son Brian’s college team, UCLA, played in a bowl game Tuesday night.

Openly criticized by his players, Callahan went 15-17 overall and 4-12 this season, the Raiders’ worst record since 1997 and the biggest drop by a Super Bowl team.

He was fired shortly after quarterback Rich Gannon criticized Callahan and offensive coordinator Marc Trestman for a bad offensive system.

Owner Al Davis — his team unable to live up to his motto of “Just Win, Baby!” — is not known for patience with coaches. Callahan, who earned $1 million a season, completed the second year of a two-year contract, and Davis declined a series of one-year club options that could have kept Callahan in Oakland through the 2006 season.

Callahan, a seven-year NFL assistant with no previous head coaching experience, was promoted from offensive coordinator when Jon Gruden went to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after the 2001 season. Gruden’s Bucs beat Callahan’s Raiders, 48-21, in the 2003 Super Bowl. Callahan is thought to be headed to Tampa Bay to join Gruden’s staff.

Some potential replacements are former Vikings and Stanford coach Dennis Green, former Raiders coach Art Shell, and the other recently fired NFL coaches. Also mentioned are several top assistants — including 49ers defensive coordinator Jim Mora and Jets defensive coordinator Ted Cottrell, who was fired Tuesday.