Over-Head
01-07-2007, 11:00 AM
Sorry if it’s a re-post
Ok, not like we didn’t see it coming, BUT!
Who the f*** is gonna be crazy enough to take the job?
Shell doomed by players' remarks; Davis listened
01-07) 04:00 PST Seattle -- Another chapter closes on Art Shell's checkered employment history with the Raiders. And yet the coach's dismissal Thursday, after the team posted all-time blights in offensive numbers and their worst record (2-14) in four decades, was not as carefully planned as you might have been led to believe.
When Shell presided over his season-ending news conference last Monday, he fully believed he would return for 2007 -- unlike, say, Bill Callahan or Norv Turner, both of whom saw pink slips dangling weeks before their regular seasons ended in misery. We've outlined the reasons why Shell felt secure. He knew owner Al Davis owed him $2 million in the last year of a two-year contract. He knew Davis would be reluctant to admit he made a mistake hiring a coach who had been out of the game so long he didn't know his team played video games on the team charter. He figured Davis would give him that last year to further employ discipline and hopefully turn the team around. Then came Tuesday, when Davis went to his No. 1 method of gauging a coach's worth. The Raiders' czar began calling his players. One by one, veteran Raiders refused to endorse Shell. Many of them spoke of a team-wide revolt that eventually took hold, a mental shutdown in defiance of the disorganized practices, emotionless team meetings and general feeling of hopelessness. They denounced Shell's uneven coaching performance, citing the coach's season-long mishandling of temperamental wide receiver Jerry Porter as an obvious personal grudge. Players also spoke of a double standard in the way Shell and his staff seemed to coddle moody wide receiver Randy Moss yet punitively or arbitrarily targeted others for the bench. Players also said they had no confidence in the offensive scheme or the ability of Shell and his hand-picked offensive staff to teach or to inspire. And no one needed to remind Davis that while the defense finished third overall in the NFL, the Raiders ended up with the No. 1 overall draft pick. What more did Davis need to hear? So that Wednesday meeting with Shell, originally designed to assess the season and determine how the Raiders would proceed, ended up becoming a lengthy exit interview. The debate was over dollars, not making the offensive line better. What's most astonishing is that Shell has yet to receive a settlement from Davis regarding that $2 million remaining on his contract. The former coach packed his belongings and left the Raiders' Alameda facility by Friday morning without a check in his hand. Now the franchise begins yet another head-coaching search. Yet despite the horrible recent track record, the Raiders' job is actually more attractive to outside candidates than before. Let's be frank. Davis, 77, is a year older than when Shell came back onboard. The presence of a top-rated defense means half the battle is won. The power that comes with holding a No. 1 overall draft pick can transform a struggling franchise, whether that means drafting Brady Quinn or swapping the position for a bounty of lower-round picks and perhaps a player or two. Davis and Shell came together in 2006 because the Raiders had been spurned by so many others and Shell was a backup choice. Shell also honestly believed he could change the culture in Alameda. That will not change until Davis is gone. This is sacrosanct in Raider Land. Davis rules, the players get what they want. The coach is the scapegoat, the babysitter and the apologist. Shell, who once played for his former boss, should have known that better than anyone.
Ok, not like we didn’t see it coming, BUT!
Who the f*** is gonna be crazy enough to take the job?
Shell doomed by players' remarks; Davis listened
01-07) 04:00 PST Seattle -- Another chapter closes on Art Shell's checkered employment history with the Raiders. And yet the coach's dismissal Thursday, after the team posted all-time blights in offensive numbers and their worst record (2-14) in four decades, was not as carefully planned as you might have been led to believe.
When Shell presided over his season-ending news conference last Monday, he fully believed he would return for 2007 -- unlike, say, Bill Callahan or Norv Turner, both of whom saw pink slips dangling weeks before their regular seasons ended in misery. We've outlined the reasons why Shell felt secure. He knew owner Al Davis owed him $2 million in the last year of a two-year contract. He knew Davis would be reluctant to admit he made a mistake hiring a coach who had been out of the game so long he didn't know his team played video games on the team charter. He figured Davis would give him that last year to further employ discipline and hopefully turn the team around. Then came Tuesday, when Davis went to his No. 1 method of gauging a coach's worth. The Raiders' czar began calling his players. One by one, veteran Raiders refused to endorse Shell. Many of them spoke of a team-wide revolt that eventually took hold, a mental shutdown in defiance of the disorganized practices, emotionless team meetings and general feeling of hopelessness. They denounced Shell's uneven coaching performance, citing the coach's season-long mishandling of temperamental wide receiver Jerry Porter as an obvious personal grudge. Players also spoke of a double standard in the way Shell and his staff seemed to coddle moody wide receiver Randy Moss yet punitively or arbitrarily targeted others for the bench. Players also said they had no confidence in the offensive scheme or the ability of Shell and his hand-picked offensive staff to teach or to inspire. And no one needed to remind Davis that while the defense finished third overall in the NFL, the Raiders ended up with the No. 1 overall draft pick. What more did Davis need to hear? So that Wednesday meeting with Shell, originally designed to assess the season and determine how the Raiders would proceed, ended up becoming a lengthy exit interview. The debate was over dollars, not making the offensive line better. What's most astonishing is that Shell has yet to receive a settlement from Davis regarding that $2 million remaining on his contract. The former coach packed his belongings and left the Raiders' Alameda facility by Friday morning without a check in his hand. Now the franchise begins yet another head-coaching search. Yet despite the horrible recent track record, the Raiders' job is actually more attractive to outside candidates than before. Let's be frank. Davis, 77, is a year older than when Shell came back onboard. The presence of a top-rated defense means half the battle is won. The power that comes with holding a No. 1 overall draft pick can transform a struggling franchise, whether that means drafting Brady Quinn or swapping the position for a bounty of lower-round picks and perhaps a player or two. Davis and Shell came together in 2006 because the Raiders had been spurned by so many others and Shell was a backup choice. Shell also honestly believed he could change the culture in Alameda. That will not change until Davis is gone. This is sacrosanct in Raider Land. Davis rules, the players get what they want. The coach is the scapegoat, the babysitter and the apologist. Shell, who once played for his former boss, should have known that better than anyone.