Another year, Another coach

So goes the story when you play in the NFL and your name is Jason Campbell.  After the Raiders 31-10 victory over the AFC West Champion* Chiefs, I began working up an article asking if Coach Cable and QB Jason Campbell could co-exist in Oakland next season. Well, now that Coach Cable will no longer be with the Raiders that write would be pointless.

Jason Campbell standing with OC Hue Jackson 

It was a roller coaster season for Campbell and the Raiders, who finished 8-8 and 6-0 in the AFC West (yet placed 3^rd in the division). According to numerous sources, this is the first time since the NFL merger that a team has swept their division without making the playoffs. Side note: It’s also the first time in NFL history that a sub .500 team won their division to host a wild card playoff game at home (Seattle Seahawks). Perhaps it’s all just a part of the parity in the NFL or maybe this season was all a strange oddity. Either way, its already been written into the history books and unless your name is Roger Goodell, you can’t do much about it.
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On Wednesday, Jan 5^th, Campbell was brought into ESPN studios to discuss Al Davis’ decision not to pick up the 2 year option on Coach Cable’s contract. I’ve seen various reports twisting Campbell’s words, claiming he is all for Cable being let go. Personally, that’s not what I took away from his interview. I think you saw a guy trying to be a leader for his teammates. (Can you blame the guy for being a little bitter though?) This isn’t anything new for Campbell, he’s been through coaching changes like Lindsey Lohans been through rehab clinics. It’s going to be another offseason of uncertainty and another training camp where he must prove himself all over again. The guy can’t come out like Shane Lechler bashing Al Davis, Campbell’s still somewhat unproven and fighting for a job in 2011.

Being an outsider, we don’t always know what’s going on behind closed doors. Especially so when we’re dealing with Al Davis; the guy is like the Brett Favre of team owners. He can’t see past his own pride to realize his decisions are doing more harm than good. I’ll be honest, seeing Coach Cable let go doesn’t bother me too much, I never liked the guy. Yet, I can’t disagree with the argument that letting him go wasn’t the right thing to do. Although I believe he made some decisions that hurt the Raiders playoff chances, he’s also a huge part of the Raiders resurgence. 2010, albeit, an 8-8 season, was a positive season for these Raiders. They proved to the league that they were no longer the “gimmie” game on their schedules.

In my mind, Al Davis should have taken the 2 year option on Coach Cable.  He’s not the best coach around but he had something good going in Oakland. You simply can not deny that. You had Darren McFadden having a break out year, Jacoby Ford shining as a rookie, an offense that put up the 6^th most points in the league and a defense that put together some strong games. For the first time in 8 seasons, the sun seemed to be shining back on Oakland. For Mr. Davis to mess with the formula that’s got this team moving in the right direction, you’ve either got to be crazy or you have some Belichick like head coach locked up in a closet that you plan to unveil in the next couple days. Right now, I going with the crazy choice.

I would have to imagine Campbell has become numb to these situations... And somehow, he’s still managed to retain his sanity and remain a starting QB in the NFL. There’s no telling how many different coaches have told him to do something one way and then the next year being told to learn it a whole new way. By now, Campbell probably knows just about every offensive pro style package there is, he’s played in all of them! The one thing Campbell does know is that in order to be successful in this league, you must have consistency and continuity, two things he’s never experienced in his career.

The best thing for Campbell and the Raiders now is promoting Hue Jackson to head coach in order to keep some continuity around the Alameda complex.