Raiders Pull Plug on Cable

By Justin Worsley,

In most cases, when a team goes undefeated in their division, not only do they make the playoff's, but the coach maintains his job.

In the bizzaro-world that is the Oakland Raiders, it means quite the opposite.

The Raiders have announced that they will not exercise their team-option on head coach Tom Cable despite the fact that Cable led Oakland to their first non-losing season since 2002.

Oakland became the first team in NFL history to go undefeated in division play and miss the playoffs. The Raiders finished third in the AFC West with an 8-8 record.

Despite their success within the division, Oakland was unable to win outside of it, going 2-8. Of the eight losses, only two teams had winning records.

Cable was named interim head coach after the Raiders fired Lane Kiffin four games into the 2008 season. In two-plus seasons, Cable hosted a 17-27 record.

Never once was Cable given any job security. The Raiders took the interim tag off of Cable in 2009 after he led Oakland to a 4-8 finish to make the Raiders 5-11. In 2009, Cable faced allegations that he assaulted then assistant Randy Hanson. Reports later came out that Cable has a history of alleged assault stemming from both of his ex-wives and his ex-girlfriend.

The Raiders have several coaching options. Offensive coordinator Hue Jackson has been a sought after prospect by the league, including the San Francisco 49ers, after tweaking the Raiders offense. Oakland scored 410 this season, the most by the franchise since their 2002 AFC Championship. Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh is also rumored to be a candidate.

Cable was the Raiders fifth head coach since 2002.