Tom Cable

Early life

Cable was born in Merced, California. He played high school football in Snohomish, Washington, northeast of Seattle. He graduated from Snohomish High School in 1982 and accepted an athletic scholarship to the University of Idaho from first-time head coach Dennis Erickson.

Playing career

Cable played on the offensive line for the Idaho Vandals for head coaches Dennis Erickson and Keith Gilbertson, blocking for quarterback Scott Linehan. Idaho won the Big Sky title in 1985 and advanced to the Division I-AA playoffs in 1985 and 1986. He was a member of the 1987 Indianapolis Colts strike replacement team, but did not play in the two games he was on the team's active roster.

College

Cable then embarked on a career as a college football coach. He was a graduate assistant for three years and an assistant coach for a decade, ascending to offensive coordinator at Colorado in 1999. On December 13, 1999, he became the head coach at his alma mater, with a three-year contract at $170,000 per year ($120,000 base and $50,000 media bonus) plus $30,000 in incentives. He succeeded fellow alumnus Chris Tormey, who had departed earlier in the month after five seasons for Nevada. At Idaho, Cable's first year, 2000, was his best, with a 5–6 record. He managed only six victories in the next three seasons, resulting in a disappointing record of 11–35 (.239), in four losing seasons. Following the 2003 season, Cable became the first Idaho head football coach fired in 22 years; his four predecessors had all achieved success in Moscow and moved on. Cable then became the offensive coordinator at UCLA for two seasons (2004–2005) under head coach Karl Dorrell, a former colleague at Colorado.

Atlanta Falcons

Cable entered the professional ranks in 2006 as the offensive line coach for the NFL's Atlanta Falcons, under head coach Jim L. Mora. Mora was dismissed at the end of the season and Cable moved on.

Oakland Raiders

Cable joined the Oakland Raiders as offensive line coach for the 2007 season, under first-year head coach Lane Kiffin. Four games into the 2008 season with the team's record at 1-3, Kiffin was fired by owner Al Davis and Cable was named the interim head coach. The Raiders finished the 2008 season with a 4-8 record under Cable, but improved statistically in many categories.

On February 4, 2009, Cable was officially introduced as the Raiders new head coach. Davis had made his decision nearly a week before, but did not want to interfere with the Super Bowl. Davis also gave Cable time off prior to that due to the death of Cable's father. On January 4, 2011, Raiders' owner Al Davis informed Cable that his contract would not be renewed, ending his tenure with the organization. During his time as head coach, Cable had a 17–27 record, including a record of 8-8 in his final season. The offensive coordinator, Hue Jackson, succeeded him as head coach.

The Raiders rushing attack ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in 2007 (sixth) and 2008 (10th) behind Cable's offensive lines.

Seattle Seahawks

Two weeks later on January 18, 2011, Cable was hired by the Seattle Seahawks as offensive line coach and assistant head coach, under head coach Pete Carroll.

In collaboration with offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell, the two spearheaded Seattle's rushing attack to become one of the best over the last-half of the 2011 season. Behind his lines, the Seahawks running game ranked fifth in the NFL with 1,212 rushing yards (Weeks 9–17), and posted 100-plus team rushing yards in eight of its last nine games, including a six-game streak that was its longest since the 2002–03 seasons.

Seattle's line once ranked as the third-youngest in the NFL, but with injuries to rookie James Carpenter, John Moffitt, and Russell Okung, the Seahawks' offensive line finished as the seventh-youngest in the league. Despite that, Cable plugged away and maintained a solid unit as Seattle’s line paved the way for Marshawn Lynch's career-year with 285 carries, 1,204 yards, and 12 rushing touchdowns. Lynch also led the league the last half of the season with 941 yards and nine touchdowns, rushing for 100-plus in six of the last nine games, and became Seattle’s first 1,000-yard rusher since Shaun Alexander in 2005. Cable won his first Super Bowl ring as an assistant coach to the Seahawks.

Cable has become synonymous in recent years for transitioning players with little or no experience at offensive line and quickly making them into NFL starting-caliber offensive lineman. His first player was J. R. Sweezy, a collegiate defensive end that Cable drafted in 2012 and switched to an offensive guard in seven months. The second was Garry Gilliam, whom Cable signed as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Gilliam had one year of experience as a collegiate offensive tackle and was a tight end since age 7. He started his first game in five months. The most recent and dramatic is George Fant, who was a basketball power forward in college and played tight end for a single year. The Seahawks signed him as an undrafted free agent after Cable insisted and he won the Seahawks' starting left tackle position in less than 20 months.

Personal life

Cable is married with four children: Amanda, Alexander, Zachary, and Ryan. Cable dropped over 130 pounds of weight while a Seahawks coach due to what he termed clean eating.

Allegations of violence

On August 17, 2009, ESPN reported that Cable was accused of punching assistant coach Randy Hanson in the face and fracturing his jaw. The incident allegedly took place on August 5 during the Raiders' training camp, held in Napa. On October 22, 2009, the Napa district attorney announced that no charges would be filed against Cable. Hanson later filed a civil suit against Cable and the Raiders, citing assault, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The matter was settled in arbitration.

On November 1, 2009, the ESPN show Outside the Lines reported that Cable was accused of physical abuse against two ex-wives and an ex-girlfriend. One of the accusers filed a civil suit against Cable, which was later settled.

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis specifically called attention to the allegations of violence against women and the altercation with Hanson as contributing to his decision to fire Cable. In addition, Davis fined Cable $120,000.

Coaching tree

NFL head coaches under whom Tom Cable has served:

Assistant coaches under Tom Cable who became NCAA or NFL head coaches:

NFL

* Interim head coach.