Tom Cable Reportedly Gone: Where Do the Oakland Raiders Turn Next?

The Raiders have made it official, Tom Cable will not return as the coach of the Raiders next season.  With this choice coming so early in the offseason, the Raiders have plenty of options to fill their coaching vacancy.  The most probable choice coming from the Raiders' own ranks.

In only his first season in Oakland, Hue Jackson has turned one of the worst offenses in the league into an offense which other teams fear.  They were the 10th-best offense in the NFL and improved by 13.3 points a game over last year. Jackson has already been contacted by the 49ers, and the Raiders would hate to lose such a big reason for improvement to a crosstown rival.

This move would also be best for the team, for Campbell has continually had a different offensive coordinator, which would yet again hamper his progression after a good year with the Raiders.  Al Davis chose his guy in Campbell, now he needs to support Campbell by hiring Jackson.

But if Jackson is lured away by another team where do the Raiders turn next?  I highly doubt Al Davis would go after Jim Harbaugh, despite the California ties, and it would seem more likely to try to shore up the defense by hiring a defensive-minded head coach. 

Perry Fewell and Ron Rivera both meet this description, and could turn around the Oakland defense with the same zest that Jackson turned the offense around with.  Fewell did a great job with the Giants defensive line, and he could work up some great schemes to show off Houston and Seymour on the defensive line. 

Rivera would be an even better fit, for he was the reason our biggest rival, the San Diego Chargers, had the best defense in the NFL.  By taking Rivera away from the Chargers, the Raiders would not only have one of the great defensive minds in football, but also take away a great defensive mind from our division rival.

If the Raiders want to continue to improve on the offensive side of the ball and Jackson has been swayed by another team, then the most logical choice would be to pursue the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles, Marty Mornhinweg. 

Al Davis probably loves what Mornhinweg has done with all the speed Philadelphia has on the offensive side of the ball, and this would seem to be a great philosophy between both the owner and the head coach.

Cable said in his final press conference that the team wasn't losers anymore, but can the next head coach of the Raiders turn the team into winners? 

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