Raiders name their next head coach

Hue Jackson has been tabbed as the next Oakland Raiders head coach.

Jackson replaces Tom Cable, who was notified earlier this month that the team would not extend his contract. Jackson served as the team's offensive coordinator in 2010.


His promotion from offensive coordinator fills the final head-coaching vacancy in the league.
Jackson will be formally introduced at a news conference Tuesday.
''The fire in Hue will set a flame that will burn for a long time in the hearts and minds of the Raider football team and the Raider Nation,'' owner Al Davis said in a statement.


Jackson was widely considered the leading contender to get the job as soon as the Raiders announced Cable's departure. This is Jackson's first head coaching job at any level.


Jackson was hired a year ago to take over the play-calling duties from Cable and oversaw a transformation on offense. Oakland scored more than twice as many points in 2010 as it did in '09 — and the Raiders won eight games and avoid an eighth straight losing season.


''I'm excited about Hue getting the head coaching job,'' Raiders tight end Zach Miller said in a phone interview with the Associated Press. ''I really like the direction our offense is going and how much we improved. This was the best offensive year we've had since I've been a Raider. I'm excited to have the continuity.''

Led by quarterback Jason Campbell, a breakout season from running back Darren McFadden and big plays from rookie receiver Jacoby Ford, the Raiders finished sixth in the league in scoring with 410 points.
''That's what I came here for,'' Jackson said late in the season. ''It would be different if there wasn't and then I'd be really upset but that's why I'm here. That's why I came to the Raiders, was to improve, but we didn't improve fast enough. ... We expect to be challenging for the playoffs, challenging for our division year in and year out and we're not getting that done, so to me, that's a disappointment. There's either first place or there's last place and there's no in between.''


That was a far different tone than the one expressed by Cable, who notably pronounced ''you can't call us losers anymore,'' after the Raiders capped an 8-8 season by beating AFC West champion Kansas City in the season finale.
The Raiders won all six division games, but only two of their other 10 games. They became the first team since the 1970 merger to have a perfect record in the division and not make the postseason.


Jackson will try to get the Raiders back to the playoffs for the first time since winning the 2002 AFC championship. Davis has let go of five coaches since then.


The latest was Cable, who had wide support from his players, who credited him with helping make the team a contender in the AFC West this season after a run of seven straight years of at least 11 losses.


But Cable's relationship with Davis was not as good and the owner decided not to exercise a two-year, $5 million option to keep him as head coach. Cable filed a grievance against the Raiders to recover $120,000 in fines that Davis withheld from Cable's paychecks in his last season. The two did not always see eye to eye on who should start at quarterback and other issues.


Jackson had a strong relationship with Campbell, the quarterback Davis acquired last offseason to lead the franchise. Campbell spoke glowingly of his relationship with Jackson. Despite being benched twice, Campbell had a solid debut season in Oakland, completing 59 percent of his passes with 13 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a passer rating of 84.5
Now he gets rare the opportunity to play in the same offense for a second straight season. He had four different offenses in four years at Auburn, then four more in six years in the NFL with Washington and Oakland.


Jackson has extensive experience as an assistant in the NFL, working in Washington, Cincinnati, Atlanta and Baltimore for nearly a decade before joining the Raiders. He has coached quarterbacks, receivers and running backs, along with serving three stints as an offensive coordinator.


His most successful was with the Raiders, who were one of the league's worst offenses when he arrived.

"The fire in Hue will set a flame that will burn for a long time in the hearts and minds of the Raider football team and the Raider Nation."

surprised to see Cable go....not that he was great, but that was the best Raiders team in the last few years...

They're getting rid of the wrong guy. They should dump Al Davis.

Al Davis has a few screws loose. Nothing was wrong with Cable unless things were going on behind the scenes that made Davis get rid of him!

BAGIANT said:

Al Davis has a few screws loose. Nothing was wrong with Cable unless things were going on behind the scenes that made Davis get rid of him!

Click to expand...

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP)—Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis rarely talks to the media anymore.
So when Davis got the chance at a news conference announcing the hiring of Hue Jackson as his new head coach on Tuesday, he took the opportunity to address a number of issues.
Davis spent a larger portion of a more than 100-minute news conference explaining why he fined former coach Tom Cable $120,000 in the final year of his contract. Davis says he withheld the money from Cable’s last six checks because of the strain on the organization from lawsuits involving Cable assaulting a former assistant coach and a former girlfriend.
The suit by former assistant Randy Hanson was kicked out of court and sent to an NFL arbitrator. Davis said that Cable recently settled the suit with former girlfriend Marie Lutz.
“That lawsuit created a tremendous amount of work, stress and turmoil,” Davis said. “Tom had been told earlier in his career that he could have been fired without pay for the wrath he brought on the Raider organization.”
Cable’s agent did not immediately reply to an e-mail seeking comment. Cable has filed a grievance with the NFL to recover the lost wages.
Davis said Cable lied to him when asked if there were any issues in his past that could affect the Raiders. He was also angered by one aspect of Lutz’s lawsuit that said Cable brought her on road trips with the team, saying it goes against his way of living and the Raider way.
He said that even though Cable was accused of breaking Hanson’s jaw in August 2009, accused of assaulting three women later that year and sued by Lutz last June, he kept him on to coach the 2010 season.
“We had been in turmoil for about a year or two after the initial stuff came out and so I just didn’t think we needed another uproar at this particular time,” Davis said. “Two roads. You can choose Road A or Road B, either way.”
Cable has acknowledged striking his first wife, Sandy Cable, with an open hand. He said the altercation happened more than 20 years ago and was the only time he’s ever touched a woman inappropriately. Because that happened before Cable joined the NFL, he was not punished by the league.
Davis said he still does not know what happened in the hotel room at training camp when Hanson had his jaw broken. Hanson accused Cable of throwing him against the wall, causing the left side of Hanson’s face to strike a table, then hit Hanson while he was on the floor. Hanson was treated for a fractured jaw and broken teeth. Hanson said Cable was restrained by assistants John Marshall, Willie Brown and Lionel Washington.
Davis said he didn’t want to get into the middle of the dispute.
“Can’t get the story,” Davis said. “You know, it’s like Gitmo. Trying to find out, did they waterboard those guys or not? No, really. It’s hard to believe. How many guys went in? Four guys went into the room with a guy, the guys comes out with a broken jaw and no one saw it.”
On other topics in Davis’ first news conference in more than 16 months:
— Davis took some blame for the Raiders struggles the past eight years when they have failed to post a winning record. “I have made mistakes. Yes, there’s no question about it, and you got to have great players. But you also, sometimes, have the players and don’t get it done. So, you’re saying, should I take some of the blame? I certainly do.”
— He said the team was hurt by the failures of former No. 1 overall pick JaMarcus Russell(notes), who was cut last May after being paid more than $39 million for three ineffective seasons. “We had a big investment in this guy. Basically, he’s a good person but he’s got personal problems, and I decided that it was time that we were not going to fight it anymore.”
— He said he was not pleased with Cable’s proclamation that “we’re not losers anymore” after the Raiders won the season finale to finish 8-8. “If that’s not being a loser in our world, I don’t know what it is, come in .500. That’s never been my goal.”
— He explained why he still believes in receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey(notes), who caught just 37 passes in his first two seasons. “Explosion. He can catch, he’s getting better and he’s a good guy. He’s going to be good.”
— He said he wouldn’t know whether Pro Bowl cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha(notes) would be brought back after the final year of his contract voided, but hinted the Raiders would have cut him instead of picking up an option that was set to be worth at least $16.8 million. “Can that $17 million bring you two or three quality players to help you win?”
— He also said he was not surprised he won a grievance hearing against former coach Lane Kiffin, who was seeking more than $300,000, after being fired for cause in September 2008. “I beat him because he lied. He’s a liar. He lied to you guys.”
— He said the team needed a new stadium—preferably at the same site as the current home—and was hurt by low revenues. The Raiders sold out only one game this season but Davis hopes a new labor deal will help Oakland’s cause. “We don’t have the resources that other teams have, but, but, I think we’ve shown that we can compete. It’s a question now of winning, and doing better than them. But it depends on what happens in the collective bargaining agreement.”
— He would not give an opinion on a proposed 18-game season that commissioner Roger Goodell wants in the new collective bargaining agreement, but said the talk of increased injuries was overplayed. “There’s no question that the ownership wants it, and Roger seems to have a way of getting things done if he wants it. So I’d rather not say what I think but I think the business of injury is overplayed.”
— He said he wasn’t worried about recent criticisms from Pro Bowl punter Shane Lechler(notes), who was upset the team let Cable go, pointing out that Lechler talked about leaving as a free agent after the 2008 season. “Shane said publicly he wasn’t coming back, he didn’t like it here. A month later, he was coming back because I gave him the highest paid contract of a specialist in pro football. No, these things happen, that’s a part of our lives, I read about marriage breakups, all those things.”

11/15/2011

Has the Raiders favored to win the AFC West:
At sportsbook.com
AFC West Division - Odds to Win - Jan 01, 2012 13:00 PM ET


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