Round and Round We Go

By MikeBullock  |   Thursday, January 21, 2010  |  Comments( 3 )

Oakland Raiders
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A few days prior to Art Shell’s second dismissal from the Oakland Raiders coaching staff, then NFL Network reporter Adam Schefter broke the news that Shell was being replaced. Within hours, Raider executive John Herrera flatly denied the rumors, casting aspersions at Schefter and the NFL Network for rumor mongering. Once Shell was shown the door, oddly enough, Herrera didn’t retract his borderline libelous comments.

Now, rumors are flying once again, with reports that Jim Harbaugh, Jim Fassel and Marc Trestman have all been contacted regarding the Raider’s head coaching position. Since Denny Green wasn’t mentioned, one might decide these aren’t just fantasized imaginings of some bored reporter looking to conjure news out of thin air.

And, once again, Herrera is on the mound, mouthing off that the Raiders have not interviewed anyone yet regarding their head coaching position. He did turn around and state that owner Al Davis and current head coach Tom Cable had had lengthy, in depth discussions regarding the team, which could be construed as Cable interviewing to keep his job. But, that’s splitting hairs.

While Fassel and Trestman have gone on the record (Fassel on NFL Radio and Trestman by way of his agent) as saying they have not talked to the Raiders about their head coaching position both situations fall under the category of ‘where there’s smoke…’

It has been verified that Baltimore Raven’s quarterbacks coach, Hue Jackson has been inside the walls of 1220 Harbor Bay Parkway, allegedly to interview for the team’s offensive coordinator position. On any normal team, this would signal that Cable is keeping his job, but on any team based in Oakland, Dallas or DC, where meddling owners reign, Davis could be assembling a staff, then thrusting it upon whomever takes the head coaching role from Cable.

Jackson is presumably there to salvage the derelict career of quarterback JaMarcus Russell, who seems to have no interest in ever mimicking the success of his self proclaimed idol, Peyton Manning. Based on the opinion of outside experts, Hue Jackson would need to be Janet Jackson in mid wardrobe malfunction to even get Russell to sit up and take notice that someone was there to get his attention in the first place.

The only true bright spot so far is the report from the NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora that Mike Waufle has interviewed for the defensive line coach position. For those who don’t recall, Waufle was the Raider D-line coach from 98-03, when the Raiders had a carousel of overachieving defensive linemen. If anyone can bring Kelly, Warren, Seymour and the gang to the level the Raiders need, it’s Waufle.



Looking at the alleged head coaching candidates, you can almost certainly rule out all three fairly quickly.

Trestman is barely into a highly lucrative contract with the reigning CFL champions, living in a situation where he is treated like the second coming of Alexander the Great. While most coaches yearn to lead an NFL franchise, in Trestman’s case there is no indisputable evidence that he would elevate his status or financial portfolio by taking the Raider job. And, he’d certainly relinquish a fair amount of autonomy in exchange for the ever present over-the-shoulder stare of Davis.

Jim Harbaugh has already publicly turned down the position, even if it was never formally offered to him. Harbaugh also has a pretty sweet gig, as far as coaching goes, running the Stanford football program and doing well with it. Harbaugh seems to come from a family that instilled integrity in their sons, unlike Lane Kiffin, and once again, the Raider coaching position just isn’t that appealing to someone already sitting in the big chair.

That leaves Fassel, the only one who, by all evidence, seems to be positioning himself to beg for the Raider gig should the opportunity present itself. Fassel has fallen from NFC Champion coach of the New York Giants down to coaching the UFL’s Las Vegas Locomotives, a team most NFL fans don’t even know exists. So, it’s no wonder Fassel wants the Raider job, as it is a definite opportunity to move back in the limelight, even if the light is silver and black. However, as Davis has proven time and again, he courts coaches like a melodramatic high school girl, shooing away the ones who seem too interested and courting the ones everyone knows are just wrong.

With all that taken into account, and the fact that Oakland has never gone this far into the off season and fired an incumbent coach, odds are that Tom Cable will be back next season, prepped and ready to continue his winning ways. That is, if Davis jettisons Russell, brings Cable some real talent on the offensive line, an offensive coordinator who knows how to use a great backfield to a team’s advantage and a few dozen other things the Raider’s will need to climb out of the basement.

Since this is the time of year when the only thing more rampant than coaching rumors is the utter lies told by team personnel in an effort to hide the truth, the only thing to know for certain is that changes are brewing in Oakland, (and John Herrera will deny that at every turn). Unfortunately, changes aren’t necessarily good or bad, just different.
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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
neil b		01:33 PM
01/21/2010
This becoming a joke.If we're keeping Cable why doesn't Al come out and say it.It would stop all this gossip in it's tracks.
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No.2
B1-Raider		02:22 PM
01/22/2010
Agree Neil B, it would stop all the rumor mongering. However, we are talking about Mr. Burns (Uncle Al) here. I wouldn't be...
No.3
GRILLA RFL		04:41 PM
02/13/2010
I know the comments I read are not from true Raiders fans. Mr. Davis and the Raiders organization have to take as much crap from...
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