Color Flores’ Retirement Party a Little Shady

The suspense was unbearable. Speculation, theory and rumor filled the mini-auditorium just before the start of Wednesday’s blockbuster Raider press conference.

What color?

That was the big question: What color?

“Black,” predicted a veteran sportswriter.

“No way,” scoffed another. “I say white. I’ve seen Al Davis at enough of these things to know. He’ll wear a black suit and white shirt, of course, but his tie will be white .”

Sure enough, when Raider owner Al Davis strode briskly and grimly toward the dais, he wore a white tie.

Now only one question remained unanswered: What color would Al’s new coach be?

The general assumption was that a new coach was to be announced. Why else would Raider executives spend all Tuesday afternoon and evening placing urgent phone calls to media outlets?

The message was clear: This will be a major announcement. Be there or be square. Bring a camera.

Speculation that the new coach would be black was given a boost when the Raiders phoned San Francisco’s leading sports reporters and urged them to attend the L.A. press conference, and even offered to pick up the tabs.

That pointed a silver-and-black finger at San Francisco 49ers assistant coach Dennis Green, who is black.

Alas, no new coach was introduced Wednesday, regardless of race, creed or color.

The purpose of the press conference, it turned out, was to say goodby to good old Tom Flores, retiring as coach. Thanks for the memories.

A noble and worthwhile concept but a crushing disappointment to the overflow crowd of news hounds who had come to record sociological history.

In that respect, the Raiders did Flores a disservice. He’s a quiet and classy guy who brought dignity to the team and the profession, and who brought two more Super Bowl trophies to the Raiders’ shelf. He deserved his own show.

Instead, he wound up sharing the bill with a host of rumors.

But that’s the Raiders, and you gotta love ‘em. Unless you’re currently involved in a lawsuit with ‘em.

They do things funny. Wednesday they worked hard to convince everyone that Flores was leaving of his own choosing, not being kicked out the door.

Davis invited a lineup of illustrious Raiders to grace the dais--Jim Plunkett, Jim Otto, Gene Upshaw, Howie Long, Marcus Allen, Lyle Alzado, Cliff Branch and Rod Martin. They sat facing the audience, their monstrous Super Bowl rings glinting in the bright TV lights.

There were so many diamonds at the head table, I kept expecting the Seven Dwarfs to come whistling in and go to work.

Davis called this “an emotional moment” and said firmly, “No one asked Tom Flores to retire. No one asked Tom Flores to retire. This is what he wanted to do. It was his decision.”

That may be so, but if our government officials could keep a secret as well as Al Davis and Tom Flores can, by now we would be shipping Mt. Rushmore to Iran for hostages and cash.

If Flores did volunteer to step down for the good of the team and himself, then it was good timing, because Davis must have been thinking along the same lines.

In fact, although Flores didn’t offer to leave until last weekend, a week or so earlier, a team insider had said ominously and vaguely, “Heads are going to roll.” Maybe he meant Coliseum commissioners’.

Listen, every grade school kid in America and Canada can quote Al Davis’ philosophy of life: “Just win, baby.”

Check the standings. The last two seasons, the Raiders have been slipping like a cat on a hot Teflon roof.

Davis has accepted blame for bungling the quarterback situation, and he can’t blame Flores for the deterioration of the offensive line or the sudden disappearance of football’s greatest cornerbacks.

Still, the machine is badly out of sync, and Al is the master mechanic, the mysterious Dr. No of football. Something had to happen.

So, there was heavy speculation that this press conference, with its outpouring of love and appreciation from Al and his players, was a Raider-style execution.

But such speculation is nit-picking and hair-splitting.

“The emphasis,” Davis said, “should be on the happy occasion, the legacy (Flores) leaves.”

And so it was, for about 10 minutes. Then the emphasis shifted back to speculation about the next Raider coach, and his skin pigmentation.

I don’t want to spoil the suspense, but here’s a hint: The next Raider coach will not be the color of Al Davis’ big-occasion necktie.

But that’s another story.