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Raiders bringing back Shell not the answer
Feb. 13, 2006
By Clark Judge
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Poor Art Shell. Poor Oakland. Once, the two were made for each other. Now they seem like unlikely partners doomed to fail.
Shell is the Raiders' new head coach. He's also the Raiders' old head coach. He guided the team 1989-94, led the club to the playoffs three times in his five complete years on the job and was the league's Coach of the Year in 1990.
That is supposed to be a positive, and it is. Or at least it was. But not here. Not now. The Raiders' hiring of Shell virtually assures that Oakland will be among the league's bottom feeders again this season, and not because of what Shell has done the past decade but because of what he hasn't.
Namely, be a head coach.
If you don't think that's a concern then you didn't follow the career of Dick Vermeil. He was hired as the Rams' head coach in 1997, 14 years after quitting the sidelines, and he suffered through two dreadful seasons and one near mutiny before winning Super Bowl XXXIV.
Then there is Joe Gibbs. He was gone a decade before returning to the Washington Redskins in 2004. In his first 12 years with the club he had only one losing season, a 7-9 finish in 1988. In the first season of his second tour he was 6-10.
I think you can connect the dots. It's not that it's difficult for coaches to pick up where they left off when they've been away from the game a decade or more; it's that it's near impossible, and Vermeil and Gibbs are living proof. Yes, both of them eventually made it to the playoffs but not after suffering through miserable seasons in their first years back on the job.
Which is why I feel for Art Shell.
The guy wanted to return to head coaching and argued he deserved the chance. Based on his 56-41 record (including the playoffs), he did. But the fact is it he never got it and moved in another direction -- first as an assistant coach, then to the NFL office in New York where he was respected as much as he was liked the past five years.
Now after 11 years away from the Raiders he's back, and, I'm sorry, I'm always wary of second acts -- especially in this atmosphere. When Shell first coached in 1989, replacing Mike Shanahan midway through the season, he joined a team that had Hall of Famers Marcus Allen, Mike Haynes and Howie Long, as well as wide receiver Tim Brown, running back Bo Jackson and an offensive line that included Steve Wisniewski, Don Mosebar and Bruce Wilkerson.
Today's lineup is ... how should we put this? ... less luminous. The offensive line features Robert Gallery, who has been nothing short of disappointing. Randy Moss is the top receiver, and he just completed a season where he had one 100-yard game in his last 11 starts and eight TDs -- the second-lowest total of his career. Cornerback Charles Woodson is destined to leave after another season of injuries, and quarterback Kerry Collins' situation is unresolved.
That isn't good, and neither is this: The club Shell inherited in 1989 had won three Super Bowls in its 13 previous years. The Raiders of today have been to one Super Bowl in the last 22 years, and they were hammered.
Now, Shell is going to make all of that better?
I don't think so. I know why Shell wanted the Raiders. He wanted to be an NFL head coach, and there are only 32 of them out there. Plus, nobody but the Raiders was bold enough to make him an offer. What I can't figure out is why the Raiders wanted Shell, other than he didn't know how to say "No."
Let me repeat, that has nothing to do with Shell's record. It speaks for itself. But if you're judging guys on the basis of records how come nobody bothered to call John Madden or Tom Flores? They're available, too, and both of them won Super Bowls. Plus, didn't the Raiders fire Shell?
Owner Al Davis all but conceded that was a mistake when he pledged that Shell would "get that nastiness of the Raiders back." But this is a club that's in the market for more, much more, than anger mismanagement.
The Raiders need a fresh start. They need new players. They need new coaches. They need a new approach. Hiring Shell won't recreate the "Greatness of the Raiders" any more than the club's return to Oakland did.
That's why the pursuits of Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and Louisville's Bobby Petrino -- neither of whom had been a head coach in the NFL -- offered hope for a franchise stumbling along at 13-35 the last three seasons. But when they expressed no interest, so did the Raiders -- reaching for the safe choice that was there all along.
"Art hasn't coached since 1994 so it's going to be an adjustment for him," said former coach Jim Mora, now an analyst for the NFL Network. "The key is getting yourself a good staff, but it's really all up to the individual.
"I was out of the game for a year, and when I came back (with Indianapolis) we were 3-13 in my first year. Then the second year we were 13-3. But I don't think it had anything to do with my being away from the game. In my first year we had a rookie quarterback (Peyton Manning) and a bad defense, and the next year both were better.
"Dick Vermeil and Joe Gibbs are outstanding coaches, but they first coached when there wasn't a salary cap or free agency. People can say, 'What does that have to do with coaching?' But it does when you suddenly have to make decisions about whom to cut and whether you keep this veteran or not.
"All that can affect your decisions. But I don't know that it makes a difference how long you've been away. I always believed that if you can coach you can coach."
But if that's the case why didn't the Raiders reach for Shell sooner? Why did they wait until they were rebuffed by others? More important, why did they jettison him in the first place? All I know is that it sure looks like the Raiders settled -- and that's not good for them or their head coach.
"I think Al finally hit a wall," one AFC general manager said of Davis. "He took Art Shell because he's a Raider; because he's one of his own."
Loyalty is good for friends. It's not always good for business. Unfortunately for the Raiders -- and for Art Shell -- they're liable to discover that all too soon.
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9232197/2
Feb. 13, 2006
By Clark Judge
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
Poor Art Shell. Poor Oakland. Once, the two were made for each other. Now they seem like unlikely partners doomed to fail.
Shell is the Raiders' new head coach. He's also the Raiders' old head coach. He guided the team 1989-94, led the club to the playoffs three times in his five complete years on the job and was the league's Coach of the Year in 1990.
That is supposed to be a positive, and it is. Or at least it was. But not here. Not now. The Raiders' hiring of Shell virtually assures that Oakland will be among the league's bottom feeders again this season, and not because of what Shell has done the past decade but because of what he hasn't.
Namely, be a head coach.
If you don't think that's a concern then you didn't follow the career of Dick Vermeil. He was hired as the Rams' head coach in 1997, 14 years after quitting the sidelines, and he suffered through two dreadful seasons and one near mutiny before winning Super Bowl XXXIV.
Then there is Joe Gibbs. He was gone a decade before returning to the Washington Redskins in 2004. In his first 12 years with the club he had only one losing season, a 7-9 finish in 1988. In the first season of his second tour he was 6-10.
I think you can connect the dots. It's not that it's difficult for coaches to pick up where they left off when they've been away from the game a decade or more; it's that it's near impossible, and Vermeil and Gibbs are living proof. Yes, both of them eventually made it to the playoffs but not after suffering through miserable seasons in their first years back on the job.
Which is why I feel for Art Shell.
The guy wanted to return to head coaching and argued he deserved the chance. Based on his 56-41 record (including the playoffs), he did. But the fact is it he never got it and moved in another direction -- first as an assistant coach, then to the NFL office in New York where he was respected as much as he was liked the past five years.
Now after 11 years away from the Raiders he's back, and, I'm sorry, I'm always wary of second acts -- especially in this atmosphere. When Shell first coached in 1989, replacing Mike Shanahan midway through the season, he joined a team that had Hall of Famers Marcus Allen, Mike Haynes and Howie Long, as well as wide receiver Tim Brown, running back Bo Jackson and an offensive line that included Steve Wisniewski, Don Mosebar and Bruce Wilkerson.
Today's lineup is ... how should we put this? ... less luminous. The offensive line features Robert Gallery, who has been nothing short of disappointing. Randy Moss is the top receiver, and he just completed a season where he had one 100-yard game in his last 11 starts and eight TDs -- the second-lowest total of his career. Cornerback Charles Woodson is destined to leave after another season of injuries, and quarterback Kerry Collins' situation is unresolved.
That isn't good, and neither is this: The club Shell inherited in 1989 had won three Super Bowls in its 13 previous years. The Raiders of today have been to one Super Bowl in the last 22 years, and they were hammered.
Now, Shell is going to make all of that better?
I don't think so. I know why Shell wanted the Raiders. He wanted to be an NFL head coach, and there are only 32 of them out there. Plus, nobody but the Raiders was bold enough to make him an offer. What I can't figure out is why the Raiders wanted Shell, other than he didn't know how to say "No."
Let me repeat, that has nothing to do with Shell's record. It speaks for itself. But if you're judging guys on the basis of records how come nobody bothered to call John Madden or Tom Flores? They're available, too, and both of them won Super Bowls. Plus, didn't the Raiders fire Shell?
Owner Al Davis all but conceded that was a mistake when he pledged that Shell would "get that nastiness of the Raiders back." But this is a club that's in the market for more, much more, than anger mismanagement.
The Raiders need a fresh start. They need new players. They need new coaches. They need a new approach. Hiring Shell won't recreate the "Greatness of the Raiders" any more than the club's return to Oakland did.
That's why the pursuits of Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt and Louisville's Bobby Petrino -- neither of whom had been a head coach in the NFL -- offered hope for a franchise stumbling along at 13-35 the last three seasons. But when they expressed no interest, so did the Raiders -- reaching for the safe choice that was there all along.
"Art hasn't coached since 1994 so it's going to be an adjustment for him," said former coach Jim Mora, now an analyst for the NFL Network. "The key is getting yourself a good staff, but it's really all up to the individual.
"I was out of the game for a year, and when I came back (with Indianapolis) we were 3-13 in my first year. Then the second year we were 13-3. But I don't think it had anything to do with my being away from the game. In my first year we had a rookie quarterback (Peyton Manning) and a bad defense, and the next year both were better.
"Dick Vermeil and Joe Gibbs are outstanding coaches, but they first coached when there wasn't a salary cap or free agency. People can say, 'What does that have to do with coaching?' But it does when you suddenly have to make decisions about whom to cut and whether you keep this veteran or not.
"All that can affect your decisions. But I don't know that it makes a difference how long you've been away. I always believed that if you can coach you can coach."
But if that's the case why didn't the Raiders reach for Shell sooner? Why did they wait until they were rebuffed by others? More important, why did they jettison him in the first place? All I know is that it sure looks like the Raiders settled -- and that's not good for them or their head coach.
"I think Al finally hit a wall," one AFC general manager said of Davis. "He took Art Shell because he's a Raider; because he's one of his own."
Loyalty is good for friends. It's not always good for business. Unfortunately for the Raiders -- and for Art Shell -- they're liable to discover that all too soon.
http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/9232197/2
