Shell brings credibility, but he has tough task in Oakland

ALAMEDA, Calif. — Art Shell has already written letters to his new players spelling out his expectations and has started looking for assistants to fill out the Oakland Raiders' coaching staff.

Shell was the last coach hired this offseason, giving him less time to begin preparations for next season — a job that's all the harder because of his own long absence from coaching.

Shell hasn't been a head coach since the Raiders fired him following the 1994 season and hasn't walked the sidelines at all since leaving Atlanta as an assistant more than five years ago.

But Shell brings a level of credibility that Norv Turner and Bill Callahan — Oakland's last two coaches — lacked. An eight-time Pro Bowler, a two-time Super Bowl champion and a Hall of Famer during his NFL career, Shell's accomplishments have already gotten the attention of his players.

"He's done the things that a lot of us are trying to get done. He's been there. He knows what it takes," receiver Alvis Whitted said. "He knows the price you have to pay. We need that as a team. We just want to follow that example and get back to where we were in 2002."

Shell will try to turn around a team that won just 13 games over three seasons after winning the 2002 AFC championship.

Even last year's addition of Randy Moss couldn't stop the slide. Moss, one of the game's biggest stars when he played in Minnesota, is coming off his worst 16-game season with 60 catches for 1,005 yards. He appeared detached and frustrated at times last season and only gave a lukewarm defense of Turner when he was asked about the coach at midseason.

"The only thing I was worried about with our new head coach coming is we have a team full of megastars. There's definitely a superstardom to the Oakland Raiders that's something that someone will have to deal with," safety Jarrod Cooper said. "Anytime you make the Hall of Fame that carries a lot of credibility wherever you go. But that only does so much when it comes to game day."

Moss brings the deep-strike capability that Shell talked about at his introductory news conference over the weekend. And his playing credentials might give him a better chance to communicate to Moss.

"They have to buy into what we're doing," Shell said. "It's a two-way street between the player and coach. There is trust. I think that's the No. 1 thing between players and coaches. You have to trust the players and the players have to trust their coaches." One of the biggest areas of improvement needed for the Raiders is at offensive line. The team averaged only 3.8 yards per carry, allowed 45 sacks and committed far too many penalties from the offensive live.