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Walsh's path leads him back to football
Fired by the Raiders after the 1994 season, offensive coordinator is glad to be reunited with former boss Shell
By Steve Corkran
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
NAPA - Tom Walsh resurfaced with the Raiders in February after an 11-year hiatus from the NFL. During that time, he and Raiders coach Art Shell traveled divergent paths since their first stint together as coach and offensive coordinator.
Yet, it was understood that if Shell ever got another shot at an NFL coaching job, Walsh would be asked to be his offensive coordinator once again.
Both have more gray hair, a few more wrinkles and more mileage on their engines than they did back then, yet it's as if nothing has changed now that they are reunited with the Raiders.
"It's not like I ever went away," Walsh said.
No, Walsh said, his mind has been on football since he and Shell were fired by the Raiders after the 1994 season. All he needed was a phone call.
Never mind that he got the call from Shell in Swan Valley, Idaho, where he was the mayor and ran the Hansen Guest Ranch. The two had a pact. Done deal. Next plane out.
Walsh's wife is serving out his mayoral term and others are picking up his chores at his "horse-friendly" bed-and-breakfast these days. Walsh, a Martinez native, is working on injecting life into an offense that sputtered last season despite the addition of wide receiver Randy Moss and running back LaMont Jordan.
Don't read too much into Walsh's absence from the NFL, he said. Once a coach, always a coach. Sure, there might be a little catching up to do but not anywhere near as much as one might suspect.
"I could be mayor, on the governor's board for tourism council in Idaho or whatever, that doesn't mean that my brain was erased," Walsh said. "If you're out there bucking hay, you're still going to think about (football)."
Shell said his list of candidates for offensive coordinator started and ended with Walsh.
Walsh's lack of on-field experience since he was the coach and director of football operations for the Regional Football League's Mobile Admirals in 1999 didn't play into Shell's decision-making process. Neither did Walsh's being asked to resign at Idaho State in 1998 after his teams combined for a 6-18 record.
"Tom Walsh (was) first because he knows the system that I love," said Shell, who will allow Walsh to call all the plays. "He knows the system and he knows how to implement it. ... That was no big decision for me."
Shell and Walsh agree that the system in question is one devised by former San Diego Chargers coach Sid Gillman and modified by Raiders managing general partner Al Davis, who coached under Gillman from 1960-62 before joining the Raiders.
In short, Shell and Walsh promise a return to a brand of offense that features straight-ahead running and downfield throws. No more variations of the West Coast offense.
"I still have the same aspirations and the beliefs, in terms that you have to run the football and you've got to run and make it physical and you've got to throw the ball down the field," Walsh said. "You can't sit there and be content to nickel-and-dime yourself up and down the field. It just doesn't work that way."
What works, Walsh said, are the same things that worked for the Raiders in the 1960s, '70s, '80s and early '90s.
"We have to get back to that," Walsh said. "There's no fancy way about it. We're not going to come out and finesse people. It's about being physical, it's about dominating, it's about imposing your will on your opponent."
That plays well to a group of players on an offense that struggled scoring points last season and lacked consistency overall.
"If coach Shell hired him, he hired him for a reason," left offensive tackle Robert Gallery said. "I'm totally on board."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/football/nfl/oakland_raiders/15162588.htm
Fired by the Raiders after the 1994 season, offensive coordinator is glad to be reunited with former boss Shell
By Steve Corkran
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
NAPA - Tom Walsh resurfaced with the Raiders in February after an 11-year hiatus from the NFL. During that time, he and Raiders coach Art Shell traveled divergent paths since their first stint together as coach and offensive coordinator.
Yet, it was understood that if Shell ever got another shot at an NFL coaching job, Walsh would be asked to be his offensive coordinator once again.
Both have more gray hair, a few more wrinkles and more mileage on their engines than they did back then, yet it's as if nothing has changed now that they are reunited with the Raiders.
"It's not like I ever went away," Walsh said.
No, Walsh said, his mind has been on football since he and Shell were fired by the Raiders after the 1994 season. All he needed was a phone call.
Never mind that he got the call from Shell in Swan Valley, Idaho, where he was the mayor and ran the Hansen Guest Ranch. The two had a pact. Done deal. Next plane out.
Walsh's wife is serving out his mayoral term and others are picking up his chores at his "horse-friendly" bed-and-breakfast these days. Walsh, a Martinez native, is working on injecting life into an offense that sputtered last season despite the addition of wide receiver Randy Moss and running back LaMont Jordan.
Don't read too much into Walsh's absence from the NFL, he said. Once a coach, always a coach. Sure, there might be a little catching up to do but not anywhere near as much as one might suspect.
"I could be mayor, on the governor's board for tourism council in Idaho or whatever, that doesn't mean that my brain was erased," Walsh said. "If you're out there bucking hay, you're still going to think about (football)."
Shell said his list of candidates for offensive coordinator started and ended with Walsh.
Walsh's lack of on-field experience since he was the coach and director of football operations for the Regional Football League's Mobile Admirals in 1999 didn't play into Shell's decision-making process. Neither did Walsh's being asked to resign at Idaho State in 1998 after his teams combined for a 6-18 record.
"Tom Walsh (was) first because he knows the system that I love," said Shell, who will allow Walsh to call all the plays. "He knows the system and he knows how to implement it. ... That was no big decision for me."
Shell and Walsh agree that the system in question is one devised by former San Diego Chargers coach Sid Gillman and modified by Raiders managing general partner Al Davis, who coached under Gillman from 1960-62 before joining the Raiders.
In short, Shell and Walsh promise a return to a brand of offense that features straight-ahead running and downfield throws. No more variations of the West Coast offense.
"I still have the same aspirations and the beliefs, in terms that you have to run the football and you've got to run and make it physical and you've got to throw the ball down the field," Walsh said. "You can't sit there and be content to nickel-and-dime yourself up and down the field. It just doesn't work that way."
What works, Walsh said, are the same things that worked for the Raiders in the 1960s, '70s, '80s and early '90s.
"We have to get back to that," Walsh said. "There's no fancy way about it. We're not going to come out and finesse people. It's about being physical, it's about dominating, it's about imposing your will on your opponent."
That plays well to a group of players on an offense that struggled scoring points last season and lacked consistency overall.
"If coach Shell hired him, he hired him for a reason," left offensive tackle Robert Gallery said. "I'm totally on board."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/sports/football/nfl/oakland_raiders/15162588.htm