Why any one would take a HC job with this guy is beyond me :idontgetit:
Because there are so few open jobs every year and you have to start somewhere.
It's a "No Lose" situation for a coach, particularly a young coach. If you win, you won despite Al Davis to media perception. Meaning you can handle anything. If you lose and get fired, it's because Al Davis interfered or was perceived to have done so and no coach has a chance to really win consistently under the meddling.
Look at the Josh McDaniels situation in contrast. Pat Bowlen and the Denver front office GAVE McDaniels broad powers. And then when it backfired, they picked McDaniels up and threw him on his sword to distance themselves from the choice in the first place. As if it was his fault he was given those powers. McDaniels has to work hard to wash the stink of that off of him. Coaches can be good or bad and do little and the stink rolls right off if they can't succeed with the Raiders. It is a rare working situation in the NFL.
Al Davis does have an eye for talent, he will spend money and he will take risks. He just does everything more poorly now than he did it in the past.
The unfortunate situation is the job is most attractive to former head coaches who don't really have a shot anymore anywhere else ( Fassel, Shell, Bugel and to some degree, at the time, Norv Turner ) or a super young coach who needs a big break and is looking ahead to his post Raiders coaching career ( Kiffin, Gruden)
People forget Ted Turner was formerly was one of the worst owners in all of pro sports. Then at some point, he got baseball people to run things and do things there way and he stepped out of their way. All Al Davis needs to do is hire a GM and get out of the way.
As for Cable, he has nothing to lose here. He won't work for the Raiders again. He may never be a head coach again ( the domestic violence thing is too much of a negative for a league trying to draw in more female fans and has more female fans than ever and his record isn't sterling ) anyway so he might as well go for the money. Also publicly it distances himself from Davis, i.e. they didn't get along and its a way to lay Cables problems and failures as coach on Davis. I'm sure Cable's agent saw it as a tradeoff PR move. The short term dragging of the domestic violence issue to light over the long term issue of making Davis look like the culprit behind Cable's lack of success. ( It was probably both issues together to be honest, both Davis and Cable were culpable for the failures of this team)
Personally I think it's a mistake for Cable. Two major issues are public, we don't know if more is buried. At some level its more than just coaching opportunities and money, it's about your privacy. Or what little you can salvage as a pro coach.
