http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-r...ov=ap&type=lgns

 

ALAMEDA, Calif. (AP) -- Art Shell was hired for his second stint as Raiders coach Friday night, ending Oakland's 5 1/2 -week search to replace Norv Turner.

 

Shell, who hasn't been a head coach since the Raiders fired him following the 1994 season, first talked to owner Al Davis about taking the job last week and emerged as the leading candidate after Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt told the team he didn't want the job.

 

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Shell, the first black head coach in modern NFL history, becomes the seventh one currently in the league. Of the 10 openings this offseason, the only other black coach hired was Herman Edwards, who was traded from the New York Jets to the Kansas City Chiefs.

 

The 59-year-old Shell met most of Friday with Davis and other team officials and will be formally introduced at a news conference Saturday.

 

Oakland has been without a coach since Turner was fired Jan. 3, giving Shell little time to put together a staff and set his offseason priorities before the scouting combine begins Feb. 22.

 

Shell takes over a Raiders team that has struggled mightily since going to the Super Bowl following the 2002 season. They won just 13 games the last three years, the first time they had three losing seasons in a row since before Davis joined the franchise in 1963.

 

This past season began with optimism after Oakland acquired receiver Randy Moss and running back LaMont Jordan to help quarterback Kerry Collins and the offense. But the Raiders lost their first three games and never were in contention for a playoff spot.

 

Turner struggled to utilize Moss, who was unable to provide the big plays that made him one of the game's biggest stars in Minnesota. Injuries slowed Moss in the middle of the season and even a brief quarterback change from Collins to Marques Tuiasosopo didn't help.

 

The Raiders scored 51 points in their final five games and lost their last six overall and eight of nine. At 4-12, they finished with one fewer victory than in Turner's first season.

 

Perhaps the most glaring statistic was Oakland's failure to win a division game for the first time since Davis came aboard. The Raiders went 1-11 against the AFC West during Turner's two seasons.

 

Shell, who had been working as the senior vice president of football operations and development for the NFL, worked as offensive line coach for two seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and four with the Atlanta Falcons before stepping down following the 2000 season.

 

Shell made eight Pro Bowls and won two Super Bowls as a standout offensive tackle in a 15-year career with the Raiders that led to his induction into the Hall of Fame. He replaced the fired Mike Shanahan during the 1989 season and lasted through 1994, the team's final season in Los Angeles.

 

Shell had a 54-38 regular-season record, leading the Raiders to the AFC championship game following the 1990 season. He hadn't gotten a second chance as a head coach after his firing, a move Davis has said he regretted.

 

Shell had a winning record in four of his five complete seasons. The Raiders have had only three winning seasons since his firing and are 13-35 the past three seasons.

 

Davis also interviewed Al Saunders, James Lofton and Rod Marinelli, and had talks with former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz, Oakland quarterbacks coach John Shoop, and Louisville coach Bobby Petrino.

 

Saunders decided to take a job running the Washington Redskins' offense, Marinelli was hired as Detroit Lions coach, Martz will be the Lions' offensive coordinator next season and Petrino said he wants to stay at Louisville.

As soon as Turner got to the boot, Shell was one of my first choices, he will bring some disicipline to a team in desperate need of it and hopefully start a new chapter in silver and black history. He took the team to an AFC championship the first time around and he never had this kind of talent.

I remember when we interviewed him last year as our 'minority' interview...he got so much crap for that.

 

stand-up guy. Got his name out there, and now he's back.

He's only getting the job b/c he's the only one willing to take the title of Al Davis's bitch.