Work of Art
The Shadow
Charleston's Art Shell attempts to rebuild Raiders in his image
By GENE SAPAKOFF
OAKLAND, CALIF. - Art Shell has checked back into a tumultuous Hotel
California, complete with a very heated pool. Not that he could ever leave.
"Once a Raider, always a Raider," they repeat within the "Pride and
Poise" organization that popularized "Commitment to Excellence."
Yes, Oakland Raider Nation is programmed to receive. Despite being fired
by relentless owner Al Davis, despite getting shoved away with a 54-38
record as a head coach and a Hall of Fame legacy as a left tackle -
indeed, even after working for a bitter rival, the Kansas City Chiefs -
South Carolina's most accomplished sports figure is back in silver and
black. Rehired by Davis in February, Shell personifies the team loyalty
motto that sounds cheesy until the 59-year-old Charleston native looks
into your eyes without smiling.
"This is fun for me," said Shell, 4-1 in the preseason and preparing for
Oakland's season opener against the San Diego Chargers a week from
Monday night. "I like being out there with the players, in practice and
in games. No big change. All players have always wanted the same thing:
They all want to win."
Never mind that he had a cushy job as a senior vice president in the NFL
office for five years, or that he hasn't been a head coach since he was
let go by the Raiders in 1994.
There is no doubt Shell is energized by the challenge of fixing a proud
franchise that has gone 4-12, 5-11 and 4-12 over the last three seasons.
But satisfying Davis and Oakland's famously (and infamously) hardcore
fans longing for a return to vintage Raider dominance probably is too
much to ask, even of a former Raider who played in eight Pro Bowls and
earned two Super Bowl rings as a player and another as an assistant coach.
Oakland during its preseason
didn't show enough improvement on offense with new starting quarterback
Aaron Brooks to keep Davis from signing backup passer Jeff George, who
hasn't played in the NFL in five seasons. But the defense has been
stellar this summer and, clearly, a less kind and less gentle Shell has
mixed discipline into the daily routine.
Disgruntled wide receiver Jerry Porter got the full brunt of Shell
during a winter meeting with the new head coach and wide receivers coach
Fred Biletnikoff, a Hall of Famer who played most of his Raiders career
with Shell.
When Porter said he preferred to return to Florida for offseason
workouts and told Biletnikoff he didn't like "the way things were going
around here," Shell erupted.
"Who the (heck) do you think you are?" Shell said, according to a
version of the conversation Porter relayed to a San Francisco Chronicle
reporter. "Who do you think you're talking to?"
Don't let the soft-sounding wine country headquarters for Raiders
training camp fool you. The football fields aside the Napa Valley
Marriott Hotel and Conference Center were a proving ground for Shell's
new order. Disgusted one Northern California afternoon three weeks ago,
he threw the entire team out of practice.
The Raiders responded with their two most impressive preseason wins,
over San Francisco and Detroit.
"I don't think we ever lost focus. It was just one of those days where
he didn't feel like everything was clicking like it should," said Warren
Sapp, a veteran Pro Bowl defensive tackle and team leader.
"So he excused us from the practice field. That's not something that has
happened to too many of us, I would expect, and it never happened to me
in my life. But it was something we all took note of. If it's not
pleasing to his eyes, it's definitely not pleasing to ours. We all put
it upon ourselves that we're not going to get in that position again. We
started playing."
Shell, at 6-5 and 270 pounds in an NFL prime that included eight Pro
Bowl appearances, looks like he could still line up and effectively
knock people around.
Safety Jarrod Cooper was asked last week about the difference between
Shell and his predecessor, Norv Turner.
"I think everybody's scared of Art Shell," Cooper said. "We're all
afraid to mess up."
Shell, in the throwback Raider way, doesn't want stupid penalties but
demands effort to the echo of every whistle.
"We had some fouls," Shell said after the 21-3 victory over the Lions.
"But they were aggressive fouls."
"The only way you can play this game is to be physical. I expect our
team to be physical every game. That's the way we're going to play. If
you're physical, then you have a lot of chances to make things happen."
'Playing with heart'
The neighborhood around McAfee Coliseum looks much the same as it did
when Shell was a Raiders player and the place was known as
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. A typical few blocks includes a
warehouse, a steel distribution center, a cannery and a salvage yard.
There is lots of razor wire.
During last month's Lions-Raiders game, a small plane flew overhead
carrying a neon pink sign promoting a "Tattoo Expo."
Oakland, with its blue-collar neighborhoods and industrial base, is to
destination San Francisco as North Charleston is to historic Charleston.
Poet Gertrude Stein said of Oakland, "There is no there there."
But that was before the coliseum was built and Davis seized Raiders
control in an ownership power struggle.
The classic cast included George Blanda, Ben Davidson, John Madden, Ken
Stabler, safety George Atkinson suing Pittsburgh Steelers head coach
Chuck Noll for labeling Atkinson a "criminal element," Jack "The
Assassin" Tatum, The Immaculate Reception loss and The Holy Roller win,
Lester Hayes, Ted Hendricks and Otis Sistrunk from "The University of
Mars." Shell, who grew up in North Charleston and graduated from
Bonds-Wilson High School, fit right in as a 1968 draft pick from
Maryland State and the Raiders played in eight AFL Championship or AFC
Championship games in his first 10 seasons.
Shell made even more history in 1988 when Davis made him the first black
head coach in modern NFL history. Davis said he "never forgave himself"
for firing Shell in 1994 but offered the job to Louisville head coach
Bobby Petrino this year before asking Shell to return. Soon after Shell
was rehired, fellow Hall of Famer Jim Otto organized a welcome dinner in
nearby San Leandro. More than 50 former Raiders attended.
Among the Raiders gear in the stands this preseason were T-shirts
featuring Shell's No. 78 and "Coach Shell is Back" on the back and two
screened pictures on the front, one of Shell as a head coach and one of
Shell as a player.
Shell's fan approval rating apparently is climbing.
"We get a lot of customers here before and after games and during the
week," said Steve Gonzalez of The Raider Image, an official team
souvenir shop located within a mile of the stadium. "With the feedback
we get, the fans are totally happy.
"So far what I've seen has all been positive. The fans, I think, just
want the team to continue focusing and drawing from that leadership and
work together as a team and not just individuals."
Raider Image jersey offerings include current players ranging from star
wide receiver Randy Moss' No. 18 to free safety Stuart Schweigert's No.
30. But some of the best sellers are throwback threads, tangible
memories of vintage Raiders such as Stabler, Biletnikoff, Willie Brown
and Cliff Branch.
Aside from Davis, Shell is the most visible link.
"People like that old Raider style," Gonzalez said, "where they play
with the heart. You can tell these young players are playing with their
hearts."
The Raider mystique
That old Raider style?
Vintage silver and black?
Sorry, but much to the dismay of Skull Man and other Raider Nation
zealots residing in The Black Hole on gameday, the dominant days of the
dark side may be gone forever. Most people outside Alameda County pick
the Raiders to finish last in the AFC West this season, behind Denver,
Kansas City and San Diego.
"I don't know that the kind of mystique we had can ever exist again,
because there's too much movement in the league," said Tom Flores, who
led the Raiders to two Super Bowl wins as a head coach and now serves as
a commentator on the Raiders radio network. "When we had that mystique,
we had the same guys for 10 years. Now, if you have a guy for five years
that's a lot. Plus, the locker rooms are different, the players are
different, loyalty is different. The mystique is kind of a memory.
"One thing about the fans here in Oakland is that these are the kids of
the former fans. They think they know what it was like, but they don't.
Because they haven't lived it."
But Flores thinks Shell has made progress and will make more.
"Art learned a lot from his first stint here," Flores said. "He knows
what has to be done. The players so far have bought into what he's
trying to do. Of course, you know how players are. They can turn the
other way real quick. If you don't win, it's not even an issue."
Matt Millen, the Detroit Lions' general manager and one of Shell's
former Raiders teammates, got an up-close view of Shell's reclamation
project when the Lions visited Oakland last week.
"Art knows the organization, he knows the city, he knows what this is
built on, the tradition and all that stuff," Millen said. "More than
that, he knows what this place really needs and what it really needs is
that throwback mentality - the details of playing football and the
discipline of what it takes. And that it's not just for looks and not so
much what you're doing but how you're doing it. He'll get the Raiders
back to that."