Though some believe that the report of a Tom Cable termination on Monday must have been off the mark, keep in mind that it’s not long after 5:00 p.m. in California, and that owner Al Davis supposedly arrives at the office at 4:30 p.m.
In the end, however, Cable’s status will be determined by one person and one person only — Davis himself.
Per a league source, Davis currently consults with senior executive John Herrera, director of college scouting Jon Kingdon, and general counsel Jeff Birren. That trio primarily tells Davis what they think Davis wants to hear. So if Davis wants to fire Cable, they’ll support it. And if Davis doesn’t want to fire Cable, they’ll support it.
The involvement of Birren suggests that, if Cable is fired, he’ll depart with “cause,” blocking him from future payments unless he can persuade NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to rule that Cable had done nothing to discredit the club and/or to breach his contract.
In support of a termination with cause, the Raiders surely would point to the August 2009 incident with former defensive assistant Randy Hanson and the controversy involving multiple women who claim that Cable roughed them up.
If that happens, Cable would be the second straight Raiders coach to be canned for cause.
And it likely will be a while (if ever) before Cable gets paid; the grievance filed by Lane Kiffin after his termination in September 2008 is still pending, more than 15 months after the fact.