Earlier on Friday, according to Dan Kolko of MASN Sports, the Cincinnati Bengals have hired former Oakland Raiders Head Coach Hue Jackson as an assistant.
That being said, considering that Jackson was the incumbent of a head coaching position and has now fallen to a positional coach, it’s just another tab added on to the Raiders’ former head coaching woes.
To understand why this is, here’s a look at other recent Raiders head coaches and what they’ve done since leaving Oakland.
Tom Cable (2008-2010)
After being the Raiders offensive line coach in 2007 and part of 2008, Tom Cable made the jump to head coach during the 2008 season and Oakland finished 5-11. With an opportunity to improve in 2009, Oakland failed to do so and once again went 5-11.
However, 2010 proved to be a rising year and the Raiders went 6-0 in the AFC West but just 2-8 outside of the division. Despite an improved record and dominating their rivals, Cable was gone after the season.
In 2011, Cable served back down the coaching ladder as Pete Carroll’s offensive line coach in Seattle and, with Marshawn Lynch going beast-mode late in the year, it would be smart for the Seahawks to keep Cable on staff.
Lane Kiffin (2007-2008)
This was an ugly period but thankfully for the sake of Raiders fans, a brief one.
Lane Kiffin was hired after a 2-14 season by Art Shell in 2006. The Raiders did manage to improve but only went 4-12, and the beginning of 2008 wasn’t pretty.
After starting 1-3, Kiffin was gone and he was back in the college ranks with the Tennessee Volunteers for 2009. Before joining the Raiders, Kiffin was an assistant under Pete Carroll at USC from 2001-2006 and it became clear that the college level was his forte.
A year after Tennessee, Kiffin bolted for USC’s opening with Carroll gone and has the Trojans back on the rise since taking over in 2010.
Art Shell (1989-1994, 2006)
Art Shell’s first stint with the Raiders that lasted six seasons was rather solid. During that span Shell had just one losing season (7-9 in 1992) and made three postseason appearances.
In 1990, Shell led the Raiders to within one game of the Super Bowl as Bo Jackson was taking the NFL by storm. An unfortunate injury to Jackson really crushed the Raiders’ hopes thereafter but still had a record of 54-38 when Shell was replaced.
The second stint is one that Raiders fans would like to forget because that 2-14 record in 2006 was Oakland’s worst record since going 1-13 in 1962.
Norv Turner (2004-2005)
When Norv Turner was hired as the Raiders’ head coach before the 2004 season kicked off, it was (at the time) a great hire. Turner had been an NFL offensive coordinator the previous three seasons and was the Washington Redskins head coach from 1994-2000.
During that time, Turner saw mild success in our nation’s capital but did make the playoffs in 1999. Unfortunately for Turner though, it would only get worse in Oakland.
His two seasons at the helm, Oakland finished 5-11, then 4-12, and Turner was gone. Thereafter, Norv briefly went back as an assistant in San Francisco but was hired by the San Diego Chargers before the 2007 season began.
Although Turner has had a good record of 49-31 in San Diego with three division titles, the Bolts have missed the playoffs the past two seasons.
Bill Callahan (2002-2003)
Had it not been for Bill Callahan inheriting Jon Gruden’s team, the Oakland Raiders would not have made it to Super Bowl XXXVII against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Gruden was easily the best head coach Oakland had had since Tom Flores but Callahan took over in 2002 and, thanks to a team loaded with talent, the Raiders won the AFC.
Then, Gruden proceeded to eviscerate the Raiders on the NFL’s biggest stage and Oakland has not made the postseason since. After getting embarrassed 48-21 in the Super Bowl, Callahan went 4-12 in 2003 and was gone.
He has since resurfaced in the pros with the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys but it would be surprising to see Callahan given another head-coaching opportunity.
Summary
Since Jon Gruden was let go after the 2001 season, Oakland has had seven different head coaches including the new man in charge for 2012, Dennis Allen.
That’s only spanning over 10 NFL seasons, so it’s obvious that not winning right out of the gates puts a coach on thin ice. And once they’re canned, only Norv Turner has been able to have some success elsewhere as a head coach in the pros.
Let’s put it this way: if Dennis Allen fails to produce, the odds are significantly stacked against him at getting another head coaching opportunity in the NFL.
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