Hue Jackson snubs Bears for ... Raiders?

Tuesday officially became the darkest day of the Bears coaching search thus far. Losing Jeremy Bates to Pete Carroll and Seattle is one thing, even if the Seahawks have less talent than the Bears. Having Rod Chudzinski decide to remain in San Diego stung. The Bears are not believed to have gotten back to Ken Zampese and he will remain in Cincinnati.

But losing Jackson to the Raiders before he even interviewed in Chicago is a gut shot for coach Lovie Smith, who desperately needs to find the right man to fill one of the most important jobs in the organization.

Jackson would rather work with JaMarcus Russell in Oakland than Jay Cutler in Chicago? He would rather work for Al Davis than Virginia McCaskey? Smith and general manager Jerry Angelo might be on a short leash, but Cable is on an even shorter one.

This one is a head scratcher, especially since was supposed to interview with the Bears but skipped his flight to Chicago on Monday night. Why wouldn’t he have at least interviewed? That’s the typical protocol. He could’ve listened to what Lovie had to say and maybe used competing offers to drive up his price.

“I’d been to the Raiders and spent time with [owner Al] Davis and talking to [coach] Tom Cable,” Jackson said Tuesday on “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on WMVP-AM 1000. “I had worked with Tom. We had worked together in college, and we have very similar thoughts, and the biggest thought is that we want to win. I was very impressed with the time I spent with Mr. Davis, talking about his vision, talking about his vision for me, for the organization and what he is trying to accomplish. It just kind of worked out.”

It worked out for the Raiders, and for Jackson, but it remains to be seen whether this coaching search will work out for the Bears.