What's left to say Art Shell has got it, always did, I say go wit da flow and take this Man and OUR RAIDERS to da SUPER-BOWL, and get back to OUR GLORY-DAYS......................

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From: "wonderfulkat™ Owner/Moderator"
Reply-To: GoRaiders@yahoogroups.com
To: "Bleed_Silver_and_Black (wonderfulkat's)" <Bleed_Silver_and_Black@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: [GoRaiders-BAM! Right in the eye!] A familiar face would do wonders for the Raiders
Date: Thu, 5 Jan 2006 08:18:14 -0800 (PST)

 

A familiar face would do wonders for the Raiders

By Mark Purdy

Mercury News

Al Davis and his football people have not requested my assistance this week. Can't say I blame them. I'm often wrong when I write about the Raiders.

For instance, last August I predicted they would have at least a .500 record and perhaps challenge for a playoff spot. I believed that with Randy Moss, the Raiders' offense would be wild, woolly and wonderful.

Heavens to Norv, was I mistaken. Which is why Norv Turner is now the team's ex-coach. I don't expect the Raiders to consult me about his replacement. But let's say they did. I would simply offer two words of advice. Two large, impressive, profound and sensible words:

1. Art.

2. Shell.

Citizens of the Raider Nation need no introduction to Shell. He was a Hall of Fame tackle with the team from 1968 to 1982. Then, as the Raiders' head coach, he took the team to three playoff appearances from 1989 to 1994.

To me, it seems like a no-brainer. After striking out with the gravitas-challenged Bill Callahan and Turner, the Raiders need a front man who commands respect and reminds people that the Raiders once stood for something special.

Also, Davis surely has learned that hiring an X's-and-O's drone (Turner) or a soul-less technician (Callahan) as a head coach does not work in today's NFL. The preferred role model is a leader who can manage his assistants and make the players pay attention every day when he stands in front of the room.

Sound like anyone you know? Shell should be the first person Davis talks to about the Raiders' coaching vacancy.

Shell is open to that conversation. He currently works in the NFL office as a senior vice president, assisting Paul Tagliabue on operational matters. Out of respect to the commissioner, Shell will not publicly campaign for another job. But his agent, Danny More, said Wednesday that Shell would certainly be available for a conversation with Davis.

``The gist of Art's feelings,'' More said, ``is that if Al Davis wants to discuss anything about anything, Art Shell will meet with Al Davis.''

But will that meeting take place?

In a conference call after Turner's dismissal, Davis was vague about his plans for a coaching search. The Raiders' owner indicated that candidates will be vetted by Mike Lombardi, the team's senior personnel executive. When those candidates ``meet certain criteria,'' Davis said, he will conduct his own interviews.

With all due respect to Lombardi, if there is one man who should immediately pass ``go'' and sit down with Davis, it's Shell. This is a crucial time in Raiders history. These two men need to have a brutal, honest face-to-face. Their meeting should not include any other Raiders executives, or Randy Moss, or Jim Otto, or Shell's agent. Even the agent says so.

``At the level of the relationship that Art Shell has enjoyed with Al Davis over the years, there need to be no other voices in the room if they're going to talk about anything,'' More said. ``These two people spent 26 years together. They don't need any outside noise.''

Right about here, you are probably asking, ``Why should the Raiders go with a retread such as Shell instead of finding a fresh face?'' Or it might be something even more cynical: ``Why would anyone want to be the Raiders' coach?''

Neither question is stupid. The job is a unique and demanding animal. Davis does not allow his coach to make many -- some say any -- personnel decisions. Davis also likes to have input on overall strategic philosophy. He's also very tough on his coaches, upbraiding them after defeats.

Davis' logic is that it worked that way when the team was winning three Super Bowls, so it should still work. You can argue with that, but you will lose the argument. Davis is the boss.

There aren't many people equipped to handle those conditions. Shell already has. He has the stature to work with Davis on hiring assistants, to have personnel input, to implement team policies.

And if Shell doesn't get the job, who will? Davis said Tuesday that he doesn't want to wait for a winning team to develop over three or four seasons. And he didn't sound excited about allowing a young head coach to develop. The last fresh face Davis hired was Jon Gruden, who learned to handle the Raiders' weirdness well, but only after two 8-8 seasons.

In retrospect, Shell's win-loss record of 54-38 with the Raiders is just as impressive as Gruden's mark of 38-26. And former Raiders receiver Tim Brown has said that the only two head coaches who had full command of the locker room on a consistent basis were Shell and Gruden.

It's a mystery why no other NFL team ever hired Shell as a head coach, especially since other second-timers (Tony Dungy, Joe Gibbs, Dick Vermeil) have done relatively well. There's no reason Davis should be hesitant to take the chance.

``It still goes back to the base issue,'' More said. ``Al loves to talk about the history of the Raiders. The winningest decade of the Raiders was the '70s. The second-most winning decade was the '80s. Well, who was the constant through that period, as a player and then as a coach? Art Shell.''

Davis said the other day that he goes with his ``gut instinct'' when hiring coaches. His instinct once told him Shell was the right move. Why not again?

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Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@... or (408) 920-5092.

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