Bookmaker – Raiders Need a New Coach Again to Win. The Oakland Raiders went 8-8 this season and were actually worth considering in NFL odds at the bookmaker but they are going to be looking for a new head coach again.
Tom Cable will not be coming back as the Raiders did not pick up the option on his contract. The Raiders were actually pretty good this season and competitive vs. the odds at the Internet bookmaker and they had their first non-losing season since the AFC title game in 2002.
Another Step Back for Oakland
It really shouldn’t be a surprise that the Raiders are taking another step back. They have one of the worst owners in all of sports in Al Davis. He has made some terrible decisions in the past decade and although Cable may not be a great coach, he was making progress. The Raiders were actually competitive this season vs. the NFL odds at the bookmaker and that is even with Jason Campbell at quarterback. Now the team will have to start over with another head coach next season. Punter Shane Lechler called the move a “huge setback” for the team. Cable had great support among the players who really wanted him back. Their opinions were ignored by Davis who doesn’t listen to anyone.
Coaching Carousel
The Raiders will now be going with their sixth head coach since Jon Gruden left after the 2001 season. Cable was around longer than any of the previous five coaches and he got the Raiders to .500 this past season. He was 17-27 as head coach of Oakland. The Raiders are said to be considering offensive coordinator Hugh Jackson for the head coaching job. Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh is also thought to be among those Davis is looking at.
Raiders 6-0 in Division
The Raiders were the first team since the 1970 merger to win all of their divisional games and not make the playoffs. The problem for the Raiders was that they went 2-8 in their other ten games. Oakland may have been able to make the playoffs and had more success against the odds at Sbgglobal if quarterback Bruce Gradkowski had stayed healthy. He was injured though and the Raiders were stuck going with Campbell. And although Campbell played better, he is still not the answer for Oakland at quarterback.