Reports: Jim Harbaugh pursued by Raiders

Stanford’s Jim Harbaugh isn’t going anywhere, and he sure isn’t going to Oakland. That’s what ESPN reported Wednesday, saying Harbaugh rebuffed the Raiders’ recent interest in his head-coaching services. The Raiders, for their part, denied ever contacting Harbaugh. – San Francisco Chronicle

Raiders may fire Tom Cable

All signs point to the Raiders joining a growing contingent that is severing ties with Cable these days and seeking a different connection. In the Raiders’ case, that means parting ways with coach Tom Cable and hitching their floundering franchise to another coach who has a fresh set of ideas and the patience to put up with quarterback JaMarcus Russell. Managing general partner Al Davis has yet to weigh in publicly on the matter. However, several people close to Davis say he is inclined to fire Cable and hire a new coach for the sixth time since Jon Gruden was jettisoned after the 2001 season. Sunday’s regular-season finale 21-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens did little to bolster Cable’s case for a second full season; he replaced the fired Lane Kiffin four games into the 2008 season. The Raiders lost at home for the sixth time, allowed a handful of big plays and reached the 11-loss mark for the seventh straight season. – Oakland Tribune

Al Davis ready to fire Tom Cable?

Al Davis has to be embarrassed by the recent reports about Tom Cable’s alleged history of violence against women, and Al is justifiably proud about his public and private stances against such behavior. He surely is readying a case to fire Cable “for cause.” He knows that his franchise, even as low as it has sunk, will be better off without this baggage. But Davis also knows that Cable will be his second coach fired “for cause” in 14 months, after the Raiders sliced out Lane Kiffin in September last year. If Davis continues to hesitate on the decision to fire Cable during this bye week, he is telling us hat he can’t pull the trigger on a coach accused of multiple instances of violence, many toward women. – San Jose Mercury News

Pat Hill Has Two Years Remaining on Fresno State Contract

It has been 10 years since the Fresno State Bulldogs were WAC winners. Fresno State walloped UC Davis 51-0 in an opener, with a date at Big Ten Conference foe Wisconsin on Saturday, then back home for WAC bully Boise State. Pat Hill has two years remaining on his contract. He will coach those two years, and he hopes well beyond with the Bulldogs, with the same fervor as always. And with the same zest to schedule anyone. He’d take on the Raiders if Al Davis would call him back. “Recruits tell me the reason they come here is the (tough) schedule,” Hill said. “I’m not going to change. I don’t worry about my contract. I worked my first 27 years in college football with one-year contracts. If I don’t get it done here, then make a change. But we’ll get it done.” – Sacramento Bee

The Firing Line: UDub Looking for Willingham Replacement

“The Firing Line” at Football Rumor Mill focuses on coaches around the country who are in serious jeopardy. The latest edition centers on Washington Coach Tyrone Willingham…

Tyrone Willingham, Washington: The final days: Back-to-back home games against Oregon State and Notre Dame will end this failed run. By the time the Irish roll into town and hand the Huskies their seventh straight loss this season (and ninth overall), there will be numerous empty seats at Husky Stadium and the end will come quickly — as soon as the Monday after the Notre Dame game. The fit: Lane Kiffin, former Oakland Raiders coach – NBC Sports

Washington is 0-5, one of two winless teams in major college football, and questions about Coach Tyrone Willingham’s status are not about if he will get fired, but when… With the dismissal of Ty Willingham a seemingly foregone conclusion, the most popular potential successor is Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel, who has turned the Tigers into a national championship contender the last two seasons. Pinkel was an assistant at Washington under Don James, who was his coach at Kent State. Another player on those teams at Kent State was Alabama Coach Nick Saban, who was hired at Louisiana State by the chancellor Mark Emmert, who is now the president at Washington. It’s easy to connect those dots, but James doesn’t believe Pinkel would come to Seattle. He might have a decade ago when, as the coach at Toledo, he lost out to Rick Neuheisel. But not now. “I don’t know why he’d be interested,” James said. “He’s making a lot more than they’re paying here. He’s got the best facilities in the country and his home is in Ohio. He’d have come here from Toledo in a heartbeat, but not now.” – New York Times

ESPN VIDEO: Raiders Fire Lane Kiffin, Won’t To Pay Salary

ESPN’s Chris Mortensen on the Raiders firing of head coach Lane Kiffin…