Raiders' New Coach Passes His First Test
By Eric Gilmore, Special to CBS Sports
ALAMEDA (CBS Sports) -- Hue Jackson passed his first test on Tuesday afternoon as the Oakland Raiders' new head coach.
During a marathon introductory press conference that owner Al Davis dominated the way he wants his team to dominate opponents, Jackson didn't run out of the room, screaming in horror at what he had gotten himself into.
At one point, Jackson sat silently for nearly 30 minutes as Davis answered assorted questions, most of them having to do with why he fined former head coach Tom Cable $120,000 during the season then fired him after an 8-8 campaign.
Davis didn't use an overhead projector, as he did when he fired Lane Kiffin "for cause" and promoted Cable from offensive line coach to interim coach four games into the 2008 season. But he pulled out a manila envelope and read from a stack of Cable-related notes and documents.
Davis said the fine centered on Cable's off-the-field transgressions, ranging from an alleged assault of ex-assistant coach Randy Hanson to accusations of domestic violence, outlined in an ESPN report. He said he fired Cable because of both his shortcomings as an offensive tactician and his problems off the field that embarrassed the team and entangled the franchise in legal problems. He accused Cable of lying to him about his off-field problems and of breaking team rules that prohibit coaches from having wives or girlfriends on road trips.
Toward the end of Davis' verbal assault on his former coach, Jackson was asked if he had any second thoughts.
"No," Jackson said, staying cool and calm. "Honestly not. That is the point. We're moving on. This is about the coming season and us having the opportunity to go out and be great."
Jackson had better hope the Raiders are great early in his watch, or you can bet he'll feel the sharp edge of Davis' ax, too.
Cable considered himself to be a Raiders history buff. So he couldn't have been surprised when his dream job turned into a nightmare and ended only 44 games after he replaced Kiffin, another coach Davis accused of lying.
Here's a little Raiders history primer for Jackson.
Jackson is the Raiders' ninth coach since they returned to Oakland from Los Angeles after the 1994 season. Seven of the previous eight coaches had losing records and were fired by Davis: Mike White (15-17), Joe Bugel (4-12), Bill Callahan (17-18), Norv Turner (9-23), Art Shell (2-14), Lane Kiffin (5-15) and Cable (17-27).
The only exception was Jon Gruden, who went 40-28 from 1998 to 2001. Even Gruden barely dodged the early hook. In his second season, he reportedly would have been fired if the Raiders hadn't defeated Kansas City in the season-finale -- 41-38 in overtime -- and finished 8-8. Of course, Gruden's time in Oakland did not end well, either. With one year left on his contract, he orchestrated an early exit and was basically traded to Tampa Bay for draft picks. The past eight Raiders coaches have survived an average of 32.9 games. Take Gruden out of that mix, and the average is 27.9 games -- less than two full seasons.
Jackson's smart enough to know he needs to win now. And, after listening to Davis skewer Cable, he's sharp enough to know he has got to stay out of the news for everything other than returning the Raiders to greatness.
If Jackson's worried, he didn't let anyone see him sweat Tuesday.
"What I'm most excited about is the environment that's starting to be created here," Jackson said. "The process is in place. We're going to create an environment here for our players to be great, and that's what we're chasing. We're chasing greatness. When I came here a year ago, my goal was to build a bully on offense. There's no question in my mind that that process is under way. We were the second-ranked team in rushing in football. We did score points, obviously not enough to our liking where we want to go."
"But we think that the players are in place for us to have an opportunity to get it done. I'm so proud to stand before you today and have the opportunity to take this football team where I know we can go because there's no question we're going to win this division and that we're going to get in those playoffs and we're going to challenge for the Super Bowl. That's what I'm here for."
Jackson obviously knows who signs his paychecks and who does the hiring and firing for the Raiders. He constantly referred to Davis as "Coach Davis," lauding him for his knowledge of X's and O's. Davis, indeed, was the Raiders' coach from 1963-65 and has been considered by some to be the team's unofficial defensive coordinator.
"I still call him Coach because he can still talk football with me, whether it's the run game, pass game, special teams, it doesn't matter," Jackson said. "He's my resource. And whenever I need to have something answered, I can always call him on the phone and get something answered." Yeah, Jackson's a smart man. The only possible stumble he made Tuesday was when someone asked him about his time as a young assistant coach at University of Pacific after his playing career ended at the college. "The person that really shaped me in football is Jon Gruden," Jackson said. "We were office mates. We were both young coaches, both young, aspiring coaches. We shared an office together, and Jon Gruden, I'll never forget it, used to put me on the [black] board at nighttime for three months straight, and we would talk football. That's where my start happened."
Davis and Gruden, of course, didn't part on the best of terms, and Jackson no doubt will be reminded of that fact. Yet the fact remains that Jackson and Gruden are out of the same coaching mold in terms of fire and energy and intensity. Like Gruden, Jackson has a sharp needle, and he's not afraid to use it to motivate players, as Raiders on both sides of the ball learned this season. Like Gruden, he's demanding. Like Gruden, he's a perfectionist.
Who knows? Maybe Jackson has a chance to last as long as his former college coaching mate did in Oakland.
"I plan on being here for a long time," Jackson said. "I'm here to be great, and I know that we've talked about the coaches before me, and I have great respect for them, but they're not Hue Jackson. OK? And I came here for one reason, is to come back and help restore the great tradition of the Oakland Raiders," Jackson said. "And that's why I'm sitting here today, and I have one goal, and that's to get that done." The clock is ticking.
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