ALAMEDA, Calif. — Al Davis has had an easy time changing coaches in recent years, with Tom Cable becoming the fifth coach of the Oakland Raiders in the past six years when he replaced the fired Lane Kiffin this week.

Altering the losing course of his once-proud franchise has proved much more difficult for Davis. The Raiders have lost 64 games since the start of the 2003 season, more than any other team in the NFL.

For a man who built three Super Bowl champions and one of the most successful franchises in professional football in his first 21 years with the Raiders, this recent stretch of ineptitude has been especially painful.

"We'll get back, we'll be back," Davis said. "The Raiders will be back. I have unshakable confidence, the will to win, and I just know that the fire that burns brightest in this building is the will to win, and we will win. We will win."

Davis' comments came during a news conference to fire Kiffin that unveiled much of the dysfunction in his franchise. Davis took 45 minutes to detail mistakes made by Kiffin, including such minute things as when to use his time-outs, and the owner described acts of what he called insubordination as part of a plan to avoid paying Kiffin the remainder of the $6 million he is owed.

Only after he was finished with that did Davis turn to the future, introducing Cable as his interim coach. The Raiders have a bye this weekend, so Cable's first game will be next Sunday in New Orleans.

But is there any reason to suspect Cable can succeed by winning and pleasing Davis where almost every one of his predecessors has failed?

"If (Jon) Gruden couldn't make it there and Bill Callahan couldn't make it there and then if Norv Turner couldn't make it there and then Art Shell couldn't make it there and then Lane Kiffin couldn't make it there, why does he think, all of a sudden, he's going to make it there? I don't understand," former Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon told Sirius Satellite radio.

Gannon was one of many former Raiders who chimed in this week on the bizarre circumstances in Oakland. Dominic Rhodes called it a "circus" he was glad to have escaped. Warren Sapp said on "Inside The NFL" that Davis meddled too much and that the football he knows is "just '60s and '70s football."

It was not the best week for the 79-year-old former coach, AFL commissioner and visionary executive who is credited for breakthroughs in minority hiring, labor peace and much success in his nearly half-century in professional football.

Then again, there haven't been many great weeks for Davis since his Raiders lost the Super Bowl to Tampa Bay following the 2002 season. They have lost at least 11 games every season since, with few signs of improvement this year with a 1-3 start and a coaching change.

"It's hard for him. I've known him for a long time," said former Raiders coach Tom Flores, who won two Super Bowls for Davis before being fired in 1987. "I worked for him for 20 years and helped him win Super Bowls. I've been through the good days, the bad days. His whole life is this team. Until he can't, he'll never stop doing what he thinks is right for this team."

Davis showed signs of being ready to make some concessions to the way he has run the team. He talked about adding a senior personnel executive in the offseason, which could help both on the field and by creating a buffer between owner and coach.

He also talked about the increasing involvement by his son Mark, who is focused on stadium and business issues and will eventually run the team.

But Davis has no plans to go anywhere soon, saying he still wants to win two more Super Bowls and talking about how his mother lived until she was 103.

The man who gets the first chance to rebuild the Raiders is Cable, who brings a long love of the franchise that Kiffin lacked. Davis has always shown great loyalty to players and staff members, often not allowing new coaches to make changes.

Kiffin came on board talking about changing the culture in Oakland and that rankled Davis at times.

"I just don't operate that way," he said. "I couldn't get him to feel toward ex-Raiders the way I wanted him to feel. But I thought he would because when he came here for the job: 'Oh, I know about the history, I know about the organization, I know about the history, I know about this.'

"Bull."

That won't be a problem with Cable, who grew up in the Bay Area cheering for the Raiders and referred to "Mr. Davis" instead of "Al" at his introductory news conference.

Cable's only previous head coaching experience came at Idaho. He had just an 11-35 record in four seasons with the Vandals, but has had much more success as an offensive coordinator and line coach in both college and the pros.

"In order to succeed you have to fail," Cable said. "I've said that from Day 1, never be afraid to make mistakes."

He brought in his zone-blocking philosophy to Oakland last season, rebuilding a line that had been atrocious under Art Shell in 2006. The Raiders ran for the sixth-most yards in the league last year and cut their sacks total from 72 to 41.

Cable has earned the adulation of his linemen in Oakland, who frequently praised his teaching ability and intensity as a coach. Now he will try to carry that over to the rest of the team, something his former colleagues believe he can do easily.

"Sometimes people have trouble seeing offensive line coaches as coordinators or head coaches because they put him in a certain category, or a certain silo," said Seattle assistant Jim Mora, who had Cable on his staff in Atlanta in 2006. "Tom always saw the big picture very well. He's had very, very good success as an offensive coordinator, a lot of success. I'm excited for him. I think he'll do a tremendous job."

AP Sports Writer Gregg Bell in Seattle contributed to this report.