Speaking at length with a Northern California media outlet for the first time since the season ended, Tom Cable talked with KHTK 1140's Mike Lamb this evening over the telephone from Mobile, Ala., where he is scouting this weekend's Senior Bowl.
In a wide-ranging 11-minute interview that touched on everything from his mission at the game to the recent hire of Hue Jackson as offensive coordinator to where the team is in his mind at the moment, Lamb asked Cable point blank if he expected to continue on as coach.
"Absolutely," Cable said. "I don't think there was ever any question. That really, I think, was more speculation than anything else. It's never been a thought in my mind."
It should be noted, however, that the Raiders have disputed an ESPN report that said Al Davis had decided to retain Cable. The Raiders' release said no decision had been made yet and, by the way, the Raiders never said Cable was in trouble in the first place.
Got it?
Lamb also asked Cable about his conversations with Davis in the past three weeks and what he's learned from them.
"The whole time we've talked about where we're at as a football team," Cable said. "We really never have had discussions about what would or wouldn't happen (regarding a possible dismissal). It's just always been about evaluating the Oakland Raiders. I don't know that at any time he's ever said he was going to change or wasn't going to change. It's just an evaluation process that every team goes through and I think we did great diligence in terms of an organization, the coaches, and here we are, getting ready for the 2010 season and starting the scouting routine with the Senior Bowl."
Of course, the topic of JaMarcus Russell came up.
"He's just one man on this football team," Cable said. "He knows he's got to get better; we know we've got to get him better. But everyone on this team...has got to get better."
The interview can be downloaded and heard in its entirety by clicking here
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