No one really knows the inner workings of the Oakland Raiders.
I know that statement to be true because after six years of directing Raiders coverage, the only person who knows what the Raiders are going to do is Al Davis. And there are times when even he doesn’t seem to know his next move.
That became apparent again Tuesday night when the Raiders failed to pick up the option on Coach Tom Cable’s contract for the 2011 and 2012 seasons.
In other words, Davis fired Cable. And we don’t know why. And we may never know why. And Cable may never know why.
As we’ve written here in the past few days, Cable has got the players to buy into what he is selling. He has given the Raiders organization, which seems adrift at sea, a glimmer of hope thanks to an 8-8 season. He has given Oakland its first non-losing season since 2002.
So who is coach? Hue Jackson? Tim Brown? Art Shell? Surely, not John Madden. And definitely neither Jon Gruden nor Lane Kiffin.
Was it money-related? Was it the fact the Raiders missed the playoffs despite pulling off a 6-0 record in the AFC West?
We may or may not get a press conference. We may or may not get some seemingly legitimate answers.
But it really would be nice to know why Davis fired his first true chance of winning in a decade. For a man who coined the phrase, “Just Win, Baby,” we sure wish he expects to do that now.
What do you think? Comment below.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Bill, this is about as big a head-scratcher as I’ve ever seen. Everyone knows it takes years for a new coach’s system to take hold, and now another one is out the door. But hey, if Nebraska can fire Frank Solich and make the Cornhuskers pretty irrelevant since, then the Raiders can fire Tom Cable and remain pretty irrelevant for another couple of decades.
So much for the glimmer of hope for next season. The Raiders started playing some exciting ball. Like him or not, it appeared Cable’s system was taking hold. Then the mighty and all powerful Oz….er, Davis….pulls a lever from behind the curtain and the Raiders are starting over. It seems they have assembled a team loaded with talent and with potential. Maybe the next guy can effectively utilize this talent….maybe…
There are likely to be some really interesting Head Coaching options out there in the post-season. But who in their right mind is going to sign-on to Oz….er, Oakland?