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Al Davis decided not to pickup Tom Cable’s two-year guaranteed option. Two years, fully guaranteed. Think about that for one second. It isn’t something to brush past in a rush to retain a coach that the players like. Tom Cable brought the team from five wins to eight wins. He was given two years and the only improvement was the offense, for which you can give Hue Jackson a lot of the credit. Tom Cable turned around a locker room. Tom Cable is a pretty good coach. He was well-liked as a blue collar ex-offensive line coach. A hard-working guy and respected by most his players. This wasn’t your typical Al Davis firing. He didn’t use an overhead projector or try to recoup money paid to Cable. Davis didn’t even string out the process. The team thanked Tom Cable and gave him ample time to find a job. The reality is that Tom Cable and Al Davis didn’t agree on things. The relationship was only likely to devolve further had Davis kept Cable around. At least Al Davis respected Cable enough ...

Why are so many teams hot for Jim Harbaugh? Why do I like him so much? There is a pretty simple answer. Harbaugh is a good leader of men, he can develop quarterbacks, and he has instant credibility. Those might be the most coveted qualities in any head coach. He can lead, he is credible with players making millions of dollars and he can develop a quarterback to lead your organization. Josh McDaniels was given the job in Denver largely because of his good work with Matt Cassel. Charlie Weis developed Tom Brady in New England and became the head guy at Notre Dame. Mike Singletary got the job because he had instant credibility and was a good leader. You could say Tom Cable got the job because of his leadership qualities. None of those guys have all the qualities of Jim Harbaugh. It doesn't mean Harbaugh will be a success, but it does increase the likelihood. The biggest characteristic organizations are looker for is the ability to develop a good quarterback. It is only getting more im...

The looming question headed into the off season is if Tom Cable will be retained as head coach. Cable's contract expires January 18 unless owner Al Davis picks up a one-year, $2.5 million-dollar option. That means Al Davis will have a couple weeks to evaluate his team and its performance this season. Davis convinces himself every year that his team is primed for a Super Bowl run. This is why there is a vast difference between 7-9 and 8-8 in the eyes of Davis. At 7-9, the team had a losing record and wasn't a real threat to challenge for the playoffs. At 8-8, you are close and just need to catch a break and win a couple close games to be in the playoffs. Going 8-8 also means 6-0 in the division and owning the division is a good springboard into the next season and something Cable can sell to Davis as reason to keep him around. Players almost always say they want a coach to return when asked. It isn't what players say, it is how they play. When players play hard and fight for...

Lets see: It is Saturday. So now that you have probably hit the snooze a few times, allow me to quickly catch you up on the Raiders quest to maybe, kinda, sorta, probably, maybe not make a head coaching change. It's been a real snooze-fest in its own right. The Raiders announced last night the hiring of Mike Waufle as the D-Line coach. Seems like a solid hire for a needed area. The best nugget of the press-release was this gem, He and Coach Cable spent six years together at the University of California where they enjoyed working together.  So...as time goes on, it appears Cable is inching towards remaining as the Raiders head coach. If Cable does stay on, don't expect a formal announcement, the Raiders typically like to point the finger at the media for overreacting and "rumor-mongering." It could be that simply no high profile parties were interested in the job. Cable was and still is teetering ever so close to the edge of the head coaching carousel of horrors, but ...