A Puppet You Say?

Raiders' coaches who were considered puppets yet succeeded:

John Rauch- He was hired to be the heir apparent to Al Davis as coach and won the '67 AFL Championship.

John Madden- He was open like Cable in regards to him admitting he needed Al to teach him how to be an NFL coach. Many considered this hire to be a "puppet" who would do what Al told him do. He won one Super Bowl and had one of the best 10 year runs ever as a coach.

Tom Flores- He's another example of someone hired who would be a "puppet." All  Tom did was win two Super Bowls in eight years.

I'll admit I wish at this point in time Al would hire a GM who can handle the contract-side of negotiations, however, for anyone to complain about these coaches being puppets of Al is not anything new.

Why complain now when it's always been this way?

If anything is noticed here it's that when Al goes outside of the organization to hire someone, change may be good for a short period, but eventually the coach can't work with the owner. Madden, Flores, & Art Shell (part I) showed the team can play well when the coach works well with the owner.

Anyone hired to be the Raiders' coach knows that Al is going to help pick the groceries. Unlike other owners though, Al still can pick talent. Anyone who's interviewed with him in the past couple of years will tell you he's still sharp as a tack. People call Al out for this, but he's picked talent as a GM & coach unlike any owner out there.

Cable is going to be a great hire and will be able to cohesively serve as coach under Al and the regime should last for several years or until Cable can't take it anymore. Madden lasted 10 years and admitted he was getting ulcers from working under Al. He also had Al introduce him into the Hall of Fame which shows you how much love he has for Al.

You might complain he's a hands-on owner, or that he brings in high-priced players but you can't complain about how the team has changed talent wise since the '07 draft.

It is what is, but if you can work with Al, voice your opinion, be able to fire up the players and coach them up, then it's a good working environment for the Raiders.

Tom Cable will prove this hire was the right decision and his ability to work with Al will be shown for the next several years as this team does very well.