The Raiders had a great draft this year, McClain, Houston, Veldheer, Ford, even 7th round pick Stevie Brown was playing toward the end of the season at safety. Reading between the lines today I'm going to assume that Jackson is only interviewing with the Niners as a formality to satisfy the Rooney rule. They want Jim Harbaugh and will offer him upwards of 6 mil per year. I have no doubt that Al is enamored with Jackson right now and likes the intensity he brought to the team. Al also wanted Jason Campbell in at QB from the get-go, comparing him to Jim Plunkett (another QB whose career was resurrected once he got to Oakland). Cable flip-flopped a lot on the QB issue, preferring to go to Gradkowski very early in the season. Jackson in the meantime has developed a good relationship with Campbell and they are on the same page. Again, Cable was a players coach, and he was partially responsible for getting the team to respond, but ultimately as impressive as the 6-0 division mark was, the team played terrible against nearly every other opponent.
Chaz Schilens' healthy return not only turned the team around this year, but ensures a decade of Raider dominance.
