The Oakland Raiders on Sunday confirmed that managing general partner Al Davis spoke with New York Giants…

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis had a 90-minute phone conversation with New York Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride about the team’s coaching vacancy. The two spoke Saturday after Gilbride had expressed interest in the job through his agent, Raiders senior executive John Herrera said Sunday. Gilbride is the first outside candidate to talk to Davis about the job.

When it comes to the Raiders, the postseason is essentially the green flag for another coaching search.

Interim coach Tom Cable led the Raiders to impressive victories in the final two games of the season—the first time that’s happened since they won the AFC championship in 2002.

Cable met with the media the following day and expressed his hope that he would soon talk with Al Davis about the job in 2009. Yet there was no set time and no day scheduled to talk.

By Tuesday, reports were already circulating about coaches Davis was reportedly interested in hiring.

Cable’s name was included, but others included:

•  Stanford coach Jim Harbaugh, a former Raiders assistant under Bill Callahan in 1993 and Norv Turner in 1994 who left to…

Raiders interim coach Tom Cable was doing his best to deflect talk of his own status in the wake of a 31-24 win over the Buccaneers that would seemingly make him a viable candidate to retain the position.

Cable said didn’t have a scheduled time to speak with team owner Al Davis, but he expected to have a conversation at some point during the week.

“It’s not in my control. I know something good is going to happen. That’s the only way I know how to look at it,” Cable said at his season-ending press briefing Monday. “I’m a line coach by trade. I’m good with that. I love coaching those guys. I can call plays. I’m pretty good at that. And I can run a football team, and I proved that.”

The Raiders won their last two games of the season for the first time since 2002, and it…

The Steelers endured the nightmare of every NFL team that has clinched its playoff positioning: watching a star player go down with an injury. Pittsburgh seems to have escaped the worst-case scenario, as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is expected to be ready for the postseason after sustaining a concussion in Sunday’s rout of the Cleveland Browns.

Coach Jon Gruden forced a smile, noting the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will need some cooperation from a couple of his former employers to ensure another trip to the playoffs. To get in, the Bucs (9-6) not only have to defeat the Oakland Raiders in Sunday’s regular-season finale, but also need the Philadelphia Eagles to beat or tie the Dallas Cowboys later in the day.

JaMarcus Russell dropped back to pass, read the defense and then found Chaz Schilens with a fade in the corner of the end zone against man coverage. That play in last week’s victory over Houston was just what the Oakland Raiders expected from Russell when they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2007 and what has often been lacking for much of his first full season as a starter.

Oakland Raiders interim coach Tom Cable lobbied for the full-time job Monday, saying that stability at the head coaching position would help the team make it back to the postseason. “I don’t think there’s any question. In order for it to move forward and be a playoff team next year, which I believe it will be, hopefully things will go in the right direction that way,” Cable said.

The Jets are getting a good look at the late-season Brett Favre collapse that became routine in Green Bay.

The Oakland Raiders invested big bucks to bolster their leaky run defense during the offseason, giving hefty contracts to defensive tackle Tommy Kelly and run-support safety Gibril Wilson. Despite all that spending, the Raiders have been even worse than they were a year ago against the run and are in danger of posting the worst mark in franchise history.