Kiffin already is a pro at this

Oakland’s Lane Kiffin might be the NFL’s youngest coach, but he’s quickly learning how to work a crowd.

At the AFC coaches’ breakfast Tuesday, part of the NFL owners meetings, the gathering of reporters around his table was at least twice as large as any other.

That’s partly because the Raiders, who finished an NFL-worst 2-14 last season, pick first in next month’s draft. And it’s partly because Kiffin, 31, the former USC offensive coordinator, was quite engaging.

“People think, ‘Did you just take the job so you could be the youngest head coach in the history of the NFL?’ No, not at all,” said Kiffin, the son of Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin. “I had to have long conversations with [Raiders owner Al Davis.] He had to figure out if I was the right guy, and I had to figure out if the job was right. Personnel issues, staff hirings -- there was a lot that went into that before I was going to accept the job.”

Most pressing is what the Raiders intend to do with the top pick. While Kiffin said no decision has been made, he praised Louisiana State quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who clearly has the arm strength to satisfy the Raiders’ penchant for throwing deep.

“With JaMarcus, you have someone who’s like a video game, I guess,” he said. “That’s what I tell our guys, just because he can make all these throws you can make on a video game.”

But he didn’t rule out the Raiders grabbing Notre Dame quarterback Brady Quinn.

“I love when Brady brings [his team] back,” he said. “ ... He’s been doing that for the past two years. He’s a big-time competitor. He’s fun. I’ve had some discussions with him, and he’s extremely intelligent. I’m really excited about Brady, and I like him a lot.”

Then, there’s Georgia Tech receiver Calvin Johnson, who Kiffin called “perfect for the most part.”

“You research him and you can’t find a bad thing,” he said. “When you’re talking about the No. 1 pick, you’re looking for bad things.... But you can’t find any negatives on the guy.”

What the Raiders plan to do with the pick remains a mystery, but its increasingly less mysterious why they chose Kiffin to run a franchise that has fired three coaches in four years.

“The word precocious fits because he’s been around and learned a lot and stayed with it,” Kiffin’s former boss, USC Coach Pete Carroll, said of him. “He’s made a lot of good solid moves with his staff.... There’s going to be some first-time mistakes, you can’t avoid it, but he’s got some great coaches on his staff. They’re going to improve so much.”

Kiffin said a significant accomplishment was bringing receiver Jerry Porter back into fold. A falling out with former coach Art Shell kept Porter sidelined most of last season.

Kiffin said he and Porter have ironed out the receiver’s bitter feelings about the franchise.

“That’s a different staff,” Kiffin said. “That was a different year. Forget about it. Move on.... Last year affected him a lot. He couldn’t help but talk about it in every conversation you’re having with him.”

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Owners voted overwhelmingly in favor of making instant replay a permanent part of the game, and decided to outfit almost every stadium next season with high-definition review systems. The only stadiums that won’t have those upgrades are the ones due to be replaced in coming years: the homes of the New York Giants and Jets, the Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts.

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Commissioner Roger Goodell will meet April 3 with Adam “Pacman” Jones. The troubled Tennessee Titans cornerback has had 10 run-ins with the law since being selected in the first round of the 2005 draft.

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Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chris Henry has been cited by Cincinnati police on three traffic charges, including driving with a suspended license. His vehicle was impounded after he was stopped March 21, and he paid $100 to retrieve it, court records show.

Times staff writer Gary Klein and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

sam.farmer@latimes.com