National Football League

Cable tabbed to be Raiders' head coach

Published Feb. 4, 2009 7:42 p.m. ET

foxsports

The Oakland Raiders retained head coach Tom Cable on Tuesday, officially removing the interim designation from his title more than five weeks after their season ended.

Cable guy

The Raiders finally found their new head coach in Tom Cable Tuesday, but Alex Marvez says he may not last long if Oakland struggles next season.

Cable went 4-8 after replacing Lane Kiffin with the Raiders (5-11), who have lost at least 11 games in six consecutive years. Cable, Kiffin's former offensive line coach, rallied Oakland to back-to-back victories to end last season.

Raiders owner Al Davis interviewed a handful of candidates for the job, but never seemed seriously inclined to replace Cable, valuing his organizational loyalty and leadership. Davis spoke to New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride and Green Bay assistant head coach Winston Moss before sticking with Cable, the former Idaho head coach who joined the Raiders in 2007.

Cable's hiring, to be announced at a news conference on Wednesday, will bring some stability to a coaching staff that's already undergoing wholesale changes even with Cable staying in charge. Cable, who represented Oakland at the Senior Bowl in Alabama last month, has argued that keeping him would bring stability to a club already on its fifth head coach since 2003.