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Art Shell back as a head coach....

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tibor75

tibor75

Banned
Hard to believe he went 12 years without a head coaching job despite his winning record. On second thought, not hard to imagine at all. :roll1:

Shell to return to Raiders as head coachBy John Clayton
ESPN.com


After considering outsiders such as Ken Whisenhunt, Bobby Petrino and Mike Martz, the Raiders went with one of their own and hired Art Shell as their new coach.

Shell will be announced Saturday at 4:30 p.m. ET as the new coach of the Raiders. He replaces Norv Turner, who was fired after two seasons and went to the 49ers as offensive coordinator.

In hiring Shell, Raiders boss Al Davis was able to correct a move he said was a mistake more than a decade ago. Davis fired Shell after the 1994 season. Shell, who was 56-41 as the Raiders head coach from 1989 to 1994, will get a chance to right that wrong.

Shell was working for the NFL when he was called by Davis last week to interview for the job. Shell flew to Oakland and interviewed last Thursday. Once Whisenhunt, the Steelers offensive coordinator, decided to stay with the Steelers and informed the Raiders of his intentions Thursday, Davis put in a call to Shell.

Shell, who was in Tampa, Fla., working for the league, got on a flight as soon as possible and made it to the Raiders' offices Friday.

After meeting with Davis most of Friday afternoon, he was offered the job and his agent worked out the contract Friday evening.

Shell, the first black head coach in modern NFL history, becomes the seventh one currently in the league. Of the 10 openings this offseason, the only other black coach hired was Herman Edwards, who was traded from the New York Jets to the Kansas City Chiefs.

Shell had been working as the senior vice president of football operations and development for the NFL.

Oakland has been without a coach since Turner was fired Jan. 3, giving Shell little time to put together a staff and set his offseason priorities before the scouting combine begins Feb. 22.

Shell made eight Pro Bowls and won two Super Bowls as a standout offensive lineman in a 15-year career with the Raiders that led to his induction into the Hall of Fame. He replaced the fired Mike Shanahan during the 1989 season and lasted through 1994, the team's final season in Los Angeles.

Other than Jon Gruden, Shell was the last head coach of the Raiders to have a winning record. Mike White, Joe Bugel, Bill Callahan and Turner followed Shell and failed to produce a winning record.

In the end, Davis kept it in the family and hired Shell
 
That organization is a mess. When you have to resort to hiring a coach that wasn't even on the radar because nobody else will take the job, you have problems. I hadn't heard that name in over a decade.
 
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NFBuck said:
That organization is a mess. When you have to resort to hiring a coach that wasn't even on the radar because nobody else will take the job, you have problems. I hadn't heard that name in over a decade.
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The organization is a mess for sure but don't question the hire. Shell's a good coach, IMO, and probably the only one who can stand up to Davis when it comes to making changes in the organization.

As for hiring a coach who you haven't heard in over a decade, I think the Rams proved that theory wrong when Vermeil went 15 years between jobs and won the Super Bowl.
 
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harrydangler said:
The organization is a mess for sure but don't question the hire. Shell's a good coach, IMO, and probably the only one who can stand up to Davis when it comes to making changes in the organization.

As for hiring a coach who you haven't heard in over a decade, I think the Rams proved that theory wrong when Vermeil went 15 years between jobs and won the Super Bowl.
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yOUR NAME IS harry gandgle..dangerl...DANGELR...DANGLER!!!! What' the hell?
 
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You'd like to think what Marvin Lewis and Lovie Smith have done in Cincy and Chicago would open some doors for minority head coaching candidates. If that doesn't you wonder if anything will.

I just don't want Hawk to end up in Oakland. He's too classy for that outfit. :biggrin:
 
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Well - just to play Devil's advocate on this issue ..

Proportion of African Americans in US Population ~12.3% (2000 US Census).

Proportion of African Americans installed as NFL head coaches (as of this AM) ~21% (rounded up).

(Countering which devil's advocacy is the contention that because of the very high proportion of African American players in the league, there should be a higher than current head count of black NFL coaches. Countering which counter is a question - Does a player automatically make for a good coach?)
 
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I'm not saying an African American coach should get a job before a white coach if the white guy is more qualified, just like I wouldn't want a white player getting a spot at running back over an African American player just because he's white. The owners who are footing out the money can choose whoever they want to head their multi million dollar teams. That said, I don't think anyone would deny that in the past minority coaches haven't had the opportunites white coaches have had. It was that way with the QB position. Things have changed for the better there and with guys like Lewis, Smith, Shell and Romeo Crennell coaching teams right now it looks like the coaching ranks are headed that way.
 
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