In a season that’s seen Randy Moss’s weekly passive-aggressive outbursts, the suspension of Jerry Porter for no real reason, and the mid-season firing of the offensive coordinating pillow-fluffer … this one might be the weirdest for the Raiders. Art Shell is accusing someone within the Raiders organization of trying to undermine the coaching staff and sabotage the team.
He won’t say who it is. It’s not a player or a coach and it’s not Al Davis. He believes someone in the organization is calling media members around the country and criticizing coaches.
“I’m a fighter,” Shell said. “I sit back and I watch things happen and then it gets to the point where you cross the line. That line has been crossed and I won’t sit back and allow it to happen anymore.”
Why would you allow it to happen at all, fighter? It’s Week 12, man. If this is true, and someone is doing that (and I’m not ruling out the possibility that Shell is just paranoid and senile), isn’t that the sort of thing you’d want to stop immediately? Why wait?
Then again … why wait twelve weeks to fire the coordinator of an offense that never really seemed to exist? Say this for him … Art Shell is a patient man. I think he’s probably waiting for just the right time before arguing with the officials about the Vincent Jackson/fumble/forward pass call.
Just a weird, weird story. Ultimately, it’s probably even a meaningless story … it’s just that I can’t envision any other organization in the NFL, and less than a handful in all of professional sports, where a story like this is even possible. Every organization employs a douchebag or two, I’m sure, but … to the point where the head coach is telling the media about the anonymous evil guy who’s trying to destroy the team from within? You don’t see that every day.
It amazes me that the Raiders are playing as well as they are … which, I’m aware, is not at a Super Bowl level or anything, but … they haven’t quit. Hell, this team should quit. They’re 2-9, the most talented player on the team has made himself worthless, the head coach is worried about bullshit like this, the return of Aaron Brooks was seen as a good thing, and this team, at least the defense, still goes out there and works their ass off on Sundays.
I don’t know if it’s admirable or sad.
Boomhauer Says:
November 30th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
Part of buying to the Al Davis Raiders is having to work with Raiders that Al chooses. Like the offensive coordinator who the past few seasons was running a bed-and-breakfast. Unlike his predecessors who weren’t from the Raider family, the quickest way for Art to get fired is to complain that somebody–”I ain’t sayin’, I’m just sayin’”–is a fink.
Mr. Bojangles Says:
November 30th, 2006 at 12:37 pm
Source is Mike Lombardi, according to our SF cyber-rag:
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/11/30/SPG7TMMHPD1.DTL
Reading that article, it sounds like things are really bad over there.
The Big Picture Says:
November 30th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
nice find, Bojangles.
From that article, Shell says,
“There has been an attack on my family … the Raider family.”
now that is sorta sad. though i don’t think for one second he’d consider moss part of his family.
peytonloveskenny Says:
November 30th, 2006 at 5:25 pm
“I sit back and I watch things happen…” Yep. That pretty much sums up his coaching strategy.