Davis and Cable: A match made in heaven?

By Brad Wilbricht  |   Friday, February 06, 2009  |  Comments( 36 )

Oakland Raiders
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After a month-long process, the Oakland Raiders' Tom Cable shed his "interim" label and became the 16th head coach in franchise history earlier this week.

Cable's appointment leaves one question: Why did it take over a month for the Raiders to hand him the reins?

After the Raiders fired Lane Kiffin early in the season, Cable stepped in and did a respectable job, leading the team to a 4-8 finish. But is he qualified to be the full-time leader of what used to be a proud franchise? Owner Al Davis is known for keeping his head coaches on a short leash, and Cable could be in line to be the next casualty of the patriarch's hit parade. On the other hand, Davis could be utilizing Cable as an illusion in order to call the shots.

Cable’s background is certainly not that of most NFL head coaches. His only prior head coaching experience, at the University of Idaho, resulted in an 11-35 record. Because of that, Cable’s contract was not renewed after four losing seasons at his alma mater. He spent several years prior to that as an assistant coach at a variety of colleges.

After a two-year stint as offensive coordinator at UCLA, Cable made the jump from the college ranks in 2006 and has spent only three seasons in the NFL. He was offensive line coach for the Atlanta Falcons for one season and secured the same position with Oakland in 2007. It's obvious that Cable’s resume doesn’t exactly exhibit winning tendencies desired in a head coach at the highest level of competition.

It’s becoming more apparent that Davis will be unhappy with any head coach who's brought in to lead his beloved Raiders. Whether he’s manipulating the assistant coaches or executives in the front office, Davis’ involvement at the ground level has proved to be rather detrimental to the team.

That being said, maybe Davis finally made the right decision. On the optimistic side, the Cable-led Raiders did make leaps toward the end of last season.

Unfortunately for Cable, however, if he defies the odds and manages to develop his own identity, he’ll probably be looking for a new employer in the near future.
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About Brad Wilbricht

Brad Wilbricht covers numerous sporting events including the NFL, NFL Draft and college football. His analysis is simulcast through several media outlets across the country. Additionally, Brad is a regular guest on a variety of talk radio shows and can be frequently heard on the airwaves. To...
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CommentsComments: 36  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
04:39 AM
02/06/2009
Why did it take so long to name Cable you ask??? From what I heard (one of my best friends is good friends with one of our...
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No.2
svduran1		08:57 AM
02/06/2009
Just SVDURAN1 and every Beat Writer in the Nation recognizes the improvement Cable was responsible for. It's like RaiderCraig...
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No.3
neil b		09:02 AM
02/06/2009
I've read that the death of Cable's father pushed the announcement back. Just my view.......Al always knew he had Cable waiting...
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