Shanahan Chosen to Rebuild : For Second Time, an Outsider Will Coach the Raiders

Those who have failed to learn the lessons of Raider history are condemned to hearing about them all over again. So it was Monday that someone recalled the darkest days in Oakland, the last time the organization went outside for a young savior:

Al Davis, then 33.

“We did pretty good then, didn’t we?” said Davis, now 58, brightening at the memory.

“Come to think of it, we did great.”

Now with the Raiders 5-10 and fallen on the darkest days in their local tenure, Davis has broken with his 22-year tradition of hiring from within, going of all places to the hated Denver Broncos for their offensive coordinator who becomes the latest in his series of youngest coaches in the National Football League:

Mike Shanahan, 35.

He’s a Raider now and a rival throughout all Broncomania. Last week, Bronco Coach Dan Reeves, who recommended him highly, said he, himself, wouldn’t have taken a job with all the “constraints” that this one has.

Reeves also once said jokingly, “I’d kill him” if Shanahan took the Raider job.

And reminded of that, Reeves said Sunday, still laughing, if not as hard:

“I still want to kill him. It’s just got to be on the field. This was not one of the places I wanted him to go.”

And there’s more.

“I’d just like to add,” said Davis, laughing, “that they locked him up for two days and told him all the bad things about the Raiders--and the owner.

“And the first time I did call--that was during Super Bowl week and I only called to say we would be interested--he was not enthusiastic about it. But Dan’s a good guy, too.”

On that light-hearted note, more or less, Shanahan replaced Tom Flores, who resigned or was nudged into considering it six weeks ago. There is some disagreement on many events in this process, and indeed, in the entire length and breadth of Raider history.

Who were the other finalists?

Davis says Jerry Rhome, San Diego Charger offensive coordinator, and Dennis Green, the San Francisco 49er receivers coach, the only black in the running, were among the final three.

Informed opinion around the National Football League, including that of Davis intimates, is that it really came down to Shanahan and Washington Redskin assistants Dan Henning and Joe Bugel, with Henning and Bugel dropping out or being dropped last week because they had trouble with the degree of control Davis still exerts. Only after Henning and Bugel left the field, say these sources, did Rhome and Green move up.

Five weeks into the search, Davis began interviewing Rhome, an 11th-hour move that prompted speculation around the league that Davis was confused.

“I don’t think you can say that,” an NFL general manager says. “He was going to talk to a lot of people. He wanted to find out everything that was going on. Al always does that.

“Al had talked to Rhome just before he hired Tom Flores. That was when Rhome was in Seattle, and they were doing some innovative things. He talked to Rhome on several occasions at the Indianapolis workouts (in early February). I really don’t think you can infer Al was confused.

“I just know he was interested in Shanahan from the beginning. George Karras (Davis’ de facto general manager) was coming out of Denver and he knew Shanahan. (Shanahan) is a bright man.

“From what I know, Henning appears to have been the first choice. But I can’t say that Bugel was any stronger than Shanahan in Al’s mind.”

How about those “constraints?”

If Davis had been hiring from the inside, as he always had before with John Rauch (1966), John Madden (1969) and Tom Flores (1979), there would have been little attention paid to his degree of control, since all Raider assistants know what the deal is: Davis functions as player personnel director, runs the draft, expects to be consulted on game plans and has been known to make a substitution from the press box.

“I am here,” Davis said Monday. “I do have control.

“No one I talked to--and I repeat no one--saw that as a negative, despite what was written.”

What was written were direct quotes from the mouths of Henning and Bugel. Henning said he wanted to change the terminology on the Raider offense and to control the final roster cut.

When that story got out, Davis blew up and Henning seemed to recant a little, agreeing that he had never been offered the job.

Then Bugel announced that he had dropped out for the same reasons Henning had given.

For his part, Shanahan says he likes the Raider offense. He is expected to trick it up a bit, in the style of the Bronco offense, which excelled in beating blitzes.

“If you saw John Madden’s first press conference,” said Davis, “they all wrote it up there (the Bay Area) the same way: ‘He’ll be there a year.’ The old ‘puppet’ routine.”

What does Shanahan plan to do?

Change the offense?

Dump all the quarterbacks into the deep, blue sea?

What is he going to do about his part-time franchise, Bo Jackson?

How about the report out of Denver that he favors Marc Wilson as the No. 1 quarterback and isn’t high on any attempt to trade for Kelly Stouffer?

Proving he’s a quick study, Shanahan expressed his personal excitement Monday, took few public positions and discussed no personnel matters, in the Raider style. He was pleasant and engaging, as Davis had found him during interviews.

And, of course, he has always loved the Raiders.

Significantly enough, that meant something--a lot, apparently--to Davis.

“What was important to me,” said Davis, “the first night we talked was the night after the Super Bowl (which the Broncos lost, 42-10). He was down. They’d gotten beat bad.

“But I said to him, ‘Tell me something. You’ve been four years in Denver, can you ever get it out of your system?’

“That’s important to me. When you come to the Raiders, you’ve got to believe it, you’ve got to love it, you’ve got to think it.

“He said something to me that was touching. He told me when he was growing up in Chicago, he used to watch on TV, and the mystique and the image of the Raiders, some of the players, which was fantastic. He had always admired it. Quite frankly, he implied that he loved it.”

Davis continued, grinning: “I don’t know if he was conning me or not. Some day, we’ll find that out.”

Raider history offers several happy precedents, which the Raiders were equally happy to note Monday. Rauch, Madden and Flores were all named coach of the year, all coached in Super Bowls.

The last outsider to become Raider coach took a 1-13 team and went 10-4 the next season.

So Shanahan’s course is set. Isn’t it?

“I don’t think of this in terms of coups,” Davis said. “Two weeks from now, all this will be forgotten. Three years from now, we won’t even remember this. We’ll only remember one thing--who’s winning those Super Bowls.

“As Mike Shanahan will tell you, the last two years they played in the Super Bowl and they got beat. And they became failures immediately.

“We’re still in the ‘80s and we’re down. . . . There are three teams that have won two Super Bowls in the ‘80s--the Redskins, 49ers and the Raiders. I don’t know what the future holds in store, but were not ready to give up on the ‘80s as yet, as something that belongs to anybody else.”

Raider Notes

Other reports from Denver of Mike Shanahan’s intentions have been born out. Shanahan says he’s bringing the Broncos’ highly regarded line coach, Alex Gibbs, with him, as assistant head coach. In Denver, there is keen disappointment over Shanahan’s exit, and little less about Gibbs’. Bronco publicist Jim Saccomano called Gibbs’ loss “a stake in the heart.” . . . Also supporting the report that Al Davis is high on Raider assistant Tom Walsh, Shanahan said that Walsh is going up the ladder, from receivers coach to quarterback coach. . . . Another Bronco assistant, running back coach Nick Nicolau, resigned Monday, although it isn’t known if he’s Raider-bound, too. The story in Denver is that Nicolau was unhappy he wasn’t being considered to replace Shanahan as offensive coordinator.

WHAT SHANAHAN IS SAYING . . .

“My concern is not really with the playoffs because my standards are higher than getting into the playoffs. Our standards are to win world championships. It’s been a situation of great tradition and great success. I’m going to try and add to that success. . .

“Obviously, my expertise is in the offensive area. I plan to contribute in a lot of areas. Our quarterback situation will start at the base. I will not have a preference as to which one will play. There are several people at that position who I will look at.”