The Raiders' search for a head coach officially ended yesterday when Al Davis and Tom Cable agreed to a contract that would remove his interim tag, and make him head coach of the Oakland Raiders. A press conference was held today at the Raiders' facility in Alameda, where Al Davis announced the appointing of Tom Cable as his head coach. Cable is now the 17th head coach in Raiders' history and the 5th since Jon Gruden left for the Buccaneers in 2002.

Cable was one of three people that Davis interviewed for the head coaching position. Davis claimed to have had considered someone else for the job, but Cable's heart and desire to bring the Raiders back to prominence finally won him over.

Here is some of what Cable had to say at today's press conference:

"As I said when this became an interim job in October, this is my dream, this was my team growing up. There's not anything in the world I'd rather be doing. I'm honored to have the opportunity. I'm very honored by what this football team did in the last six weeks of the regular season and where we have grown as a football team, and I know right now where we need to go to get to the playoffs."

In an endearing speech, Cable addressed the Raider Nation and said it was time to bring the glory back to Oakland.

"To the fans of Raider Nation, listen to me. It is time we came back to you with a team that you can be proud of every Sunday, so that everyone walks into that stadium with an energy and excitement like no other. You have been great fans in the past, and it is time for us to give you something back - a great football team."

Under Cable, the Raiders finished the 2008 season on a high note. They beat a team on the rise in the Houston Texans, and upset the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a surprising road win in the final game of the season.

Let's hope Cable can build upon that momentum and bring the Pride & Glory back to Oakland.

The waiting appears to be over. According to a team source, the Raiders are in the process of finalizing a contract with interim head coach Tom Cable that will appoint him as head coach of the Oakland Raiders starting with the 2009 season. The press conference is tentatively scheduled for sometime tomorrow.

For the past couple of weeks it has seemed all but certain that Tom Cable will lead the Raiders as head coach beginning with the 2009 season. Cable is expected to have the interim tag removed from his job title as early as today, or possibly Wednesday.

Cable, who took over in week 5 after Lane Kiffen was shown the door, has already proven that he can lead the team. Although his win/lose ratio wasn't spectacular, he demonstrated good leadership qualities in the face of extreme adversity. Cable imbued the Raiders with something the team hasn't had in quite some time - Pride & Poise. He taught the players to believe in themselves and to keep fighting until the end.

The Raiders finished their season with 2 straight victories, including a startling upset with a road win over Tampa Bay, which ultimately led to the Bucs missing the playoffs and former Raiders' head coach Jon Gruden and GM Bruce Allen losing their jobs. Cable's influence in the second half of the season formed a solid foundation for which the Raiders can build upon in the 2009 season.

So if Cable seems so right for the job, why has it taken so long to promote him to head coach?

One reason may be that Al Davis wanted to wait until the Super Bowl fanfare had blown over. Al likes to be the center of attention and he didn't want the Super Bowl media coverage to steal his thunder. The other, and more tangible reason, is that Davis wanted to be very particular about the assistant coaching staff that was hired for next season.

The Raiders' past three head coaches were all allowed to assemble their own coaching staff, which Davis now sees as a probable contributor to the team's failure over the past several seasons. This time around Davis wanted to be instrumental in the hiring of assistant coaches prior to appointing the team's new head coach.

Now that many of the important pieces are in place and the Super Bowl has come and gone, expect the Raiders to make a formal announcement within the next 24-48 hrs.

At least that's what ESPN and other league sources are saying. The media reported on Wednesday that Al Davis is planning on removing the interim tag from head coach Tom Cable's job description. Raiders' senior executive John Herrera denied the imminent hiring of cable and told reporters that "no decision has been made yet". Cable's current contract expired January 13th and the Raiders have yet to renew it, but he still remains working at the team's facility.

Cable is considered to be the leading candidate for the Raiders' head coaching position. Coupled with the fact that he was recruiting staff members at the Senior Bowl and has not interviewed with any other teams, it appears certain that he and Davis are close to an agreement. In addition to Cable, Davis interviewed New York Giants' offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and Green Bay assistant coach Winston Moss for the head coaching position. It was also reported that one of the other candidates for the job was informed that Cable had been hired. Again, no official stament has been made by the Raiders.

Although the Raiders have been dragging their feet a bit in the pursuit of a new head coach, interim head coach Tom Cable looks to be the guy. Unfortunately though for Cable, Al Davis' reluctance to move forward with the promotion isn't going to help his confidence any.

Cable should be a shoe-in for head coach because unlike the majority of the other available coaches, he wants to work for Al Davis. He can be Davis' yes man, while also commanding some respect from the players. After Cable had a few weeks to semi-adjust to his new role, the team responded to their new coach and began to show some desire and promise. If he's able to put together a decent staff and have a whole off-season to prepare, who knows... maybe the Raiders will show us something different next year.

Apparently Cable could be very close to a deal with the Raiders because it's been reported that he is presently interviewing people for his staff while at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Alabama. It could be that he just likes to be prepared, or he and Al may know something we don't.

Tom Schefter of the NFL Network writes:

"Tom Cable is a prime candidate, and quite possibly the prime candidate to become the Raiders' head coach. Cable and Raiders owner Al Davis have talked regularly, and Cable must feel pretty good about his chances. His actions say as much. Cable is at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., interviewing assistant coaches for his staff in the event that he does land the job. It could be that Cable is just being prepared and thorough - or it could be that he and the Raiders are getting closer to a deal."

Sources close to Don Martindale, the Oakland Raiders linebackers coach for the past five seasons, say that he's likely to be joining Josh McDaniels and his staff over in Denver. McDaniels took over the reigns for the Broncos after 14 year coach Mike Shanahan was fired earlier this month.

Prior to this discovery, there was much speculation that Martindale was a top candidate for the Raiders' defensive coordinator position, or possibly even head coach.

Source: InsideBayArea.com

With the recent hiring of Baltimore's defensive coordinator Rex Ryan this past Monday by the New York Jets, the Oakland Raiders are now officially the only NFL team sans a head coach. Two days prior to Ryan's hiring by the Jets, Raiders general managing partner Al Davis interviewed Oakland's linebackers coach Don Martindale for a coaching position. Martindale coached at the University of Cincinatti along side Rex Ryan during the 1996-1997 seasons. It is highly probable that Rex Ryan may seek to acquire Martindale's services in New York, forcing the Raiders into a bidding war to keep him.

With Greg Knapp's move to Seattle, the offensive coordinator position presents another glaring need for the Raiders. Jim Fassel, former head coach of the New York Giants, has expressed interest in coming to the bay to help the Raiders. It is said that he's a candidate for the head coaching position, but it is also possible that he may be considered for offensive play caller if Davis decides to go with a different head coach.

The Raiders will be at the Senior Bowl on Saturday in Mobile, Alabama to scout players with the rest of the league. Former Raiders' offensive coordinator Marc Trestman who will also be on hand at the Senior Bowl this weekend, has announced that he's interested in coming back to the NFL as a coach. Trestman was the offensive coordinator for the Raiders during their 2002 campaign which led them to the Super Bowl and featured the league's number one offense. Trestman should be considered another likely candidate for the position. Trestman spent last season in the Canadian Football League coaching the Montreal Alouettes.

Source: MercuryNews.com

Oakland Raiders executive John Herrera refutes the reports that the organization is considering Don Martindale for the head coaching job. Martindale, the team's linebackers coach, interviewed with Al Davis on Saturday for the defensive coordinator position. ESPN hastily and erroneously reported that following the interview, Martindale had become a candidate for Raiders' head coach.

It's no secret that the Raiders organization has some animosity towards ESPN's representation of them in the media. Al Davis has referred to ESPN analyst Chris Mortensen as a "professional liar" in regards to the claim that Davis was going to sell part of his stake in the team.

This is what Raiders exectuive John Herrera had to say to the San Jose Mercury News concerning this recent rumor:

"Once again ESPN has chosen to air something that has no basis in fact".

"It is true that Mr. Davis met with Martindale (on Saturday). It was a (2-1/2)-hour interview, but it had nothing to do with becoming a head coach. While we think highly of Don Martindale, he had a 2 1/2-hour interview that centered on the defense".

The Raiders' linebackers coach Don Martindale was interviewed yesterday for the vacant defensive coordinator position. According to ESPN.com and the Contra Costa Times, the five hour interview must have impressed managing general partner Al Davis, because he has decided to add Martindale to the list of prospects for the head coaching position.

Prior to interviewing Martindale on Saturday, Davis had interviewed interim head coach Tom Cable and Giants' offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride for the head coaching job. In addition to Cable and Gilbride, Packers' assistant head coach Winston Moss has spoken to the team, and Giants' former head coach Jim Fassel has expressed interest as well.

Davis is also expected to talk with Jeremey Bates, the quarterbacks coach for the Denver Broncos. Arizona Cardinals' offensive coordinator Todd Haley is another name being tossed into the head coaching mix.

Probably not, but one can dream. With the recent firing of Jon Gruden by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it does add an interesting possibility to the Raiders' search for someone to fill their vacant head coaching slot. After all, Al Davis is well aware that the most success he's had in the past two decades was when he was working with Gruden. Al has even expressed regret for letting Jon go.

The bridge isn't necessarily burned either. Gruden was fairly diplomatic when dealing with his departure from the Raiders. He wanted a change and was very forthwith about his desire to be close to his family in Florida. Gruden never publicly criticized or insulted Davis like Kiffen had done.

Although it's a long shot, one never knows. If Al Davis is anything, it's unpredictable.