Nice Hire, Guys

Art Shell is out as Raiders coach, just one season in his bid to "return the nastiness back to the Raiders." Remember all of that nonsense? Some of the quotes are just great. Here is a look down memory lane.

Al Davis: "It may take us a short while, but we'll get that nastiness of the Raiders back." How did that work out for you? It is kind of hard to be nasty when you coach looks as wooden as a cigar store Indian.

Art Shell: "I just want to get back to the point where when we walk into a stadium, they know the Raiders are in town." Yeah, they knew you were back in town because your team would leave with a victory.

And don't forget about the fans who bought into the whole,"Return to greatness" thing. Many thought it was blasphemy to suggest that Shell was going to be a bigger failure this time around. Many of them called us out in the FanHouse pages for basically telling them that failure was inevitable. You have to wonder how they are feeling now.

Now, many of you are likely sad to see Shell go, for fear that the Raiders will hire a competent coach. Don't hold your breath. If anything, the coaching search should again provide for more comedy as all of the big-name coaches turn down Davis' courting. Hell, you can imagine the legion of Raiders fans who are probably deluded into thinking that Bill Cowher is going to be the next Raiders coach.

If anything, watch for this coaching search to stretch near the scouting combine (again), until Davis settles for the cheapest alternative. And once again, you will hear all of the hyperbole about the "Return to greatness and the nastiness of the Raiders."