Despite amassing a perfect division record and making the Raiders not losers for the first time since they went to the Super Bowl in 2002, Tom Cable was let go yesterday as head coach in Oakland. It’s a shame, as the Raiders were definitely one of the less sucky teams this season, and the players were fully in support of him and his coaching methods.

When punter Shane Lechler heard about cutting Cable (see what I did there?), he was not happy at all. Get it in the coffin corner, Fanhouse:

“I’m not so sure this isn’t a terrible decision,” [Lechler] added, saying he thought Cable’s “no-nonsense” approach was “exactly what we need.” According to Lechler, the move will cause the team’s free agents to not want to re-sign with the squad.

Lechler said he tried to call Al Davis and other executives, but has gotten no response.

“I just want to know what the hell’s going on,” he said. “I just want to know … how do you justify firing somebody when you just went 6-0 in the division and 8-8 in the season after we put in so much as a group, as a unit, as a team with our leader being Tom Cable, how do you just go ahead and whack this guy with, I mean, no reason?”

I fully support his argument. The main objective for the Raiders was to show they can beat anyone in their up-for-grabs AFC West division, and they did it. Giving Cable another season to take the next step would have been the correct decision, and now all the progress Cable built can be potentially ruined by a very impatient Al Davis who just wants to win, baby, before he croaks. I’m just saying, he’s not a farfetched 2011 celebrity death pool pick.

Lechler has the right to speak, since he’s been with the Raiders for all ten seasons of his NFL career and is damn good at it too, accumulating awards including six Pro Bowl selections. Not sure how much it says about your team when one of the most consistent and talented players is the punter, though.

Al Davis, that cranky old bastard that still owns the Oakland Raiders, seems more than content to let his head coach twist in the wind. Reports indicate that Cable has been meeting with Davis throughout the week, pleading to keep his job. Whatever that means. Cable’s a bit of a push right now: he punched out a member of his coaching staff early in the season, but somehow managed to win five games with a roster that included JaMarcus Russell.

But now Davis is interviewing assistant coaches, even as Cable’s fate remains undecided, and that’s something I never really understood. Why not let the guy pick his own staff? Why would Davis allow Cable to build the infrastructure to succeed? Because he’s Al Davis, whose withered face is only matched by his atrophied football acumen. Davis seems content on showing Cable who’s boss, which is interesting, because a five-win season hardly has the makings of a coup.

But if you thought the Chan Gailey hiring in Buffalo was garbage (and it was), wait to see what Davis does with Tom Cable. Because Davis’ Napoleonic ways will allow him to drop that coach’s headset on whomever he damn well pleases. The sad thing is that, as the staffs of competent teams look to bring on new assistants, Cable remains stuck in Oakland, seemingly powerless to improve his own destiny. But as Tom Cable remains resigned to his fate, Oakland seems oblivious to its own. Is it a good marriage if both people are equally miserable? If you’re crazy, it doesn’t really matter.

Raiders coach Tom Cable is now coming under fire from the National Organization for Women (NOW), and if you’re not familiar with them, they’re just like PETA, except for chicks. NOW president Terry O’Neill said something about children being our future or some crap. But seriously, it’s a crying shame that the only people the Raiders can seem to beat are women.

“This is the National Football League. Boys and girls around the country, as well as many women, look to the leaders of the NFL as our role models,” O’Neill said in a phone interview. “Why would the NFL tolerate having a man who admits to having battered his wife.” –Y!Sports

Uh, probably because it was 20 years ago, you crazy NOW people. You need to focus on what’s happening now, NOW. Don’t worry about then. You missed it. When? Just now. You’re at now, NOW. You can’t go back to then. You missed it, NOW. When? Just now. When will then be now? Soon! Read the rest of this entry »

It’s bad enough for Raiders coach Tom Cable that he’s stuck coaching the Raiders, but earlier this morning ESPN had interviews with a girlfriend and a former wife of his. Turns out that Raiders assistant coach Randy Hanson wasn’t the only thing Cable liked to beat on; apparently he was taking some of his work home, as both his ex-girlfriend and his ex-wife accused him of abuse.

In 1989, Sandy Cable sought a temporary order of protection, which said, in part, “On two occasions, one back in ’86 and the other in ’88, he hit me. The second time in the face, however on attempts to call law enforcement, my husband would rip the phone out of the wall.”

A third woman, Cable’s second wife Glenda, said in documents related to the couple’s 2008 divorce that “in the past he has been physically and verbally abusive to me.” –the monolith.

Cable says he only slapped his ex-wife after suspicions of infidelity, which apparently would make that totally okay. Beating your spouse is never okay, unless your spouse is a prostitute. And if your spouse is a prostitute, domestic violence really is the least of your problems. Unless you’re the head coach of the Raiders.

Raiders head coach and gentleman of the cloth (a large black cloth that somewhat resembles a polo shirt) Tom Cable will be questioned by police for an August 5th incident that led to Raiders assistant coach Randy Hanson suffering a broken jaw. Nobody can seem to agree on whether Cable punched Hanson in the face, flipped him out of his chair, or simply tried to eat him. Assistant coaches are loaded with carbs, but guys like that don’t usually care.

Hanson has spoken to Napa police and has not been seen at Raiders camp since the incident. The case was initially closed and then reopened Friday when Hanson agreed to cooperate with authorities.

Meanwhile, Hanson has retained an attorney specializing in employment law, potentially signaling yet another lawsuit for team owner Al Davis, who’s already locked in a legal battle with former Oakland coach Lane Kiffin. via.

Hanson supposedly mouthed off to defensive coordinator John Marshall, which was the issue to which Cable took exception. It’s also worth noting that Hanson is the same little bastard that gave Lane Kiffin all kinds of grief before Al Davis showed him the door. And honestly, I think the world would be a better place if more white people were violent in the workplace. It’s a wonderful thing when issues in the workplace sort out themselves. Why, just an hour ago, I gave myself a good pounding, and now I’m ready for a serious nap. Okay, bad example.

If you’re to believe anything that former Raiders cornerback DeAngelo Hall says, Al Davis made a bit of a hasty hire in selecting Tom Cable to replace Lane Kiffin as his head coach last year. I guess he couldn’t let some other team take him for their head coaching job. From Jerry McDonald’s interview with Hall on Inside The Oakland Raiders (via flubby):

The funniest Al Davis story from his time in Oakland?

Hall: Probably the funniest thing, I was pretty close to Lane Kiffin…and after they fired Lane and were about to announce who the next coach was – I don’t know if you guys saw this in the media world, but I was actually sitting there live, me and a couple other players there in the back. And [Davis] went through this whole spiel of what happened…and said our next coach is Tom Cable, he’s going to be our interim coach. When everybody paused for Tom to come in, like a breakoff. [Davis] goes to the media guide and not even whispering says ‘hey, anyone got any information on this Tom Cable guy, I don’t know where he comes from.’ That’s just vintage Al Davis. Making a move, not really knowing why, no real justification for doing it. But just saying, ‘hey, I want this guy, let’s get him, I’ll figure everything else out later.’ And that’s just how Al Davis is.

Nothing this guy does could surprise us anymore. I don’t know whether to bet that his next hire will be a Muppet, a homeless guy, or just some jagoff from Merced. Fortunately for Davis, Tom Cable is all of those things. Well done, Mr. Davis.