Tom Cable: Winning or Losing, Not a Job Everyone Would Want...But He Does

In some ways, you have to envy Tom Cable. He is one of 32 coaches presently in the NFL that has the day-to-day job of trying to produce results with a group of players that may or may not work. He has to remove players, replace players, and in some cases, play judge if someone is no longer carrying their weight.

And in some cases, he can become the fall guy when it's not really his fault.

Some coaches have the hardest job in the world. John McKay was saddled with an expansion franchise, which responded with two wins in two seasons. With the draft, by his fourth year the team won 10 games in a season, more than the previous three years and even won a playoff game.

Some coaches can win often in the regular season, but reaching the playoffs, they are snakebit. George Allen coached the Redskins and the Rams for 12 seasons, and never had a losing record in the regular season.

In the post-season, he had only two wins, both coming in the 1972 season where they played against the Dolphins who were perfect.

John Madden, for the Raiders, could probably be called the unluckiest coach. In three different playoff games, there were three controversial situations that cost his teams the chance to go ahead in the postseason.

Twice against the Steelers and one against the Broncos, his overall playoff record stands at 9-7. But he does have a Super Bowl win.

And then there are coaches where everything goes right or wrong. Don Shula, for example, had a Dolphins team that won the Super Bowl, going perfect for the entire season, even if players did get hurt. Or you can have a team like Rod Marinelli. The previous year winning seven games, thoughts were high for the Lions to improve.

By the end of the year, fans were wondering if Barry Sanders could have saved this team, going 0-16.

So, how does this tie into the Raiders and Tom Cable?

For all the comments coming in from guys like Warren Sapp, or the occasional gaffe that Al Davis may mention, Tom wants to be there. He's not presently being held hostage like Lane Kiffin was, contract-wise. He wasn't saddled with a team he couldn't control, like Bill Callahan and the bay area retirement community.

He probably won't imitate Norv Turner, who helped the Raiders get rid of both Tim Brown and Jerry Rice.

And he hasn't been shy about his desire to be a coach for the Raiders, unlike Mike Shanahan who had come from a known enemy.

Tom, thanks to Al Davis was allowed to build a coaching staff that he liked around him. How would you like to have a job where you're told to succeed, but are given a dozen monkeys?

Granted, Tom doesn't have the luxury of having several Heisman trophy winners. He doesn't have guys like Marcus Allen, Cliff Branch or Howie Long, like Tom Flores.

But Tom Cable is right where he wants to be.

Now Tom's job is leading the Raiders back to their old ways...and the Nation is watching.