Could this be Tom Cable’s swan song?

Seattle Seahawks coach Tom Cable a hot head coaching candidate?

Black Monday in the NFL is just days away; that dark day when you can’t refresh your Twitter feed fast enough to keep up with the head coaches who get pink slips. Which also means it’s that time of year to speculate on who might be in line to get first crack at those new openings.

Two such lists, by Peter King of SI and Jason LaCanfora of CBS, both include Seahawks offensive line coach Tom Cable’s name as a potential candidate.

Some may have given up on Cable as a head coaching candidate after his first stint, with the Raiders, ended in his firing and also included allegations of a locker room fight with an assistant coach. But he never did. In fact one of the reasons he’s lost 130 pounds in the last couple years is reportedly to make himself more attractive as a head coaching candidate for other teams.

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His name has been floated around the last couple years, but with the Seahawks Super Bowl runs in back to back years his availability has been limited.

And then there’s that alleged incident in 2009. Varying reports had Cable either punching assistant Randy Hanson with a “roundhouse” blow to the head, or flipping his chair, causing him to hit his face on a cabinet as he tumbled to the ground. Whatever the case, Hanson suffered a broken jaw and Cable suffered damage to his reputation. He was fired after the 2010 season, going 17-27 during his tenure in Oakland.

Certainly that situation will be addressed in any potential job interviews.

And he might just get that chance. As many as a half dozen coaching jobs will be open a week from now. King lists Cable 10th on his “Hiring List,” while LaCanfora has him as a “darkhorse” after listing another 11 assistant coaches he sees as hot names.

Here’s what each has to say about Cable’s potential candidacy:

PETER KING:

"“Vaults up our list after coaching the lowest-paid offensive line in football through a turbulent season which saw Seattle lose running back Marshawn Lynch and remain in the top five in rushing offense. The Raiders went 8-8 in Cable’s second full season as head coach, but Hue Jackson replaced him in 2011. Downgraded by most evaluators in light of a 2009 incident in which he reportedly broke an assistant’s jaw with a punch. Said one evaluator: “That’s not something you can easily shake.”"

JASON LACANFORA:

"“The offensive line coach was a part of reworking a unit on the fly and getting the pass protection and run game turned around despite having less-than-established personnel to work with. He managed to go .500 as the Raiders’ head coach and while he has some allegations in his past that he’d have to account for, he has been a big part of the Seahawks‘ rise to prominence and his players love him.”"

Next: Beast Mode back for playoff run?

Will Cable get a shot this year? As usual, it could depend on how far the Seahawks go in the playoffs. If he were to leave it would leave a huge void in Pete Carroll’s coaching staff that might not easily be filled from within.

But that’s speculation for another day, and another post.