Art Shell returns to Raiders...

[texan279]

LINK


ALAMEDA, California (Ticker) - Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis has said that firing Art Shell after the 1994 season was a move he always regretted. Now he is trying to rectify that mistake.

The Raiders on Friday hired Shell as their coach for a second time. He will be introduced at a news conference on Saturday.

Shell became the NFL's first black coach of the modern era when he was hired by Davis during the 1989 season and compiled a 54-38 record with the Raiders, including a trip to the AFC championship game in January 1991.

Despite the winning record, Shell was not hired by another team after being fired by the Raiders.

Shell, a Hall of Fame player as a tackle with the Raiders and a member of two Super Bowl-winning teams, had been working as the senior vice president of football operations and development for the NFL.

The Raiders waited until after the Super Bowl to interview Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt for the coaching position. But Whisenhunt decided to stay with Pittsburgh and Davis turned to Shell.

 

[WWJD]

Seems like an odd thing to me for some reason. One good thing for them though is he knows the inner workings of that team.

 

[edo783]

Good luck to Art...I suspect he will need it to make that dysfunctional group work.

 

[Double Barrel]

Good for them! I hope he does well, especially considerig no one else wanted that job. He seems to be able to work with Davis, so good luck Art!

 

[Kaiser Toro]

Crafty move by Davis. He must be gearing up for another move. He has got some leverage by resigning Shell. The league is a better place with Art Shell in it leading the black and silver.

 

[bigTEXan8]

I'm just suprised Al Davis can admit a mistake. I'm glad that Art Shell is back. He deserves it. This could be the best thing for the Raiders. It wasn't like he was a bad coach anyway, he was solid, IMO. Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't Shell the first black HC in the NFL?

 

[OzzO]

Classic - good luck to Art the second time around. I think Al was just running out of time and no one was wanting that HC job (with Wisenhunt and Petrino the most recent ones).

 

[Darporini]

Correct me if I'm wrong, wasn't Shell the first black HC in the NFL?

Actually, Fritz Pollard was the first Black head coach in the NFL. But, Art Shell was the first in the modern era.

Here is Fritz' profile from the Hall of Fame:
http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=242

 

[mike moffat]

Good luck to Art Shell. He's a player's coach. Something that the Raiders needed. I've always liked him.