Will Harbaugh Make the Jump to Oakland?

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It looks like Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis is still trying to decide between Tom Cable and JaMarcus Russell. Yeah, I know… it should be an easy decision. The team showed signs of life when Cable decided to go with Bruce Gradkowski late this season and quite frankly, Russell is supremely talented and epically lazy. LSU fans knew it all along, now everybody else does too.

At this point, no one is sure what will happen with Cable. Maybe there have been meetings with Davis, maybe there haven’t. Jerry McDonald of Inside the Oakland Raiders says information from Raider Land has been scarce and doesn’t expect that to change.

But let’s face it. Nobody’s got the definitive answer on Cable. Maybe because Davis hasn’t made up his mind; maybe because the inner circle of people who truly know what’s going is so small that if word were to get out, Davis would know immediately who spilled the beans.

Conventional wisdom, the most dangerous of phrases when applied to the Raiders, is that Cable is a goner. That hasn’t changed since since the day after the season ended.

But to paraphrase Jim Mora the elder, “You think you know, but you don’t know.”

If Cable does get the axe who will take his place on the hot seat? Mike Leach, Brian Billick, Jim Fassel, Kevin Gilbride, Cam Cameron, Marty Mornhinweg, Marc Trestman and Steve Mariucci have all been mentioned as possible candidates at one time or another. According to McDonald, the three leading candidates may be Kevin Gilbride, Marc Trestman and Jim Harbaugh. Yep, that Jim Harbaugh.

The first three names I was given by a veteran Davis-watcher knowledgeable in the ways of the NFL rumor mill should Cable be fired _ Kevin Gilbride, Marc Trestman, Jim Harbaugh.

Harbaugh signed a contract extension with Stanford in December that raised his salary into the $1 to $1.5 million per year range which is still a far cry from what some coaches are raking in these days. While it may have been enough to keep him from relocating to Buffalo, it’s certainly not enough to remove his name from the rumor mill.

Let’s face it, Harbaugh has officially become the new Pete Carroll. If an NFL or top-level college job becomes available you can bet his name will be mentioned and, eventually, there will be one that he just can’t pass up.

Unfortunately, for Raider fans… this ain’t it.