Poor Art Shell. Poor Oakland. Once, the two were made for each other. Now they seem like unlikely partners doomed to fail.
|
|
| Art Shell had much more to work with the first time around. (AP) |
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?
