Will somebody please hire Art Shell as head coach?

	The man was successful with the Raiders, so why won't you hire him? Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
	MAILBAG Submit a question or comment for Richard. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

While watching Wilfred Brimley and Hume Cronyn duel last night in college football's version of Cocoon, my mind wandered to a younger man who should still be on the sidelines:

Art Shell.

I only hope NFL owners are thinking the same thing. It was easy to think about Shell on Tuesday after the Raiders fired Norv Turner, yet another coach who lived up the team's current commitment to ineptitude model. Since Shell was fired by owner Al Davis in 1994 -- a decision Davis has repeatedly said was a mistake -- the franchise has said hello and goodbye to five coaches: Mike White (15-17 as a Raider coach), Joe Bugel (4-12), Jon Gruden (40-28), Bill Callahan (15-13) and Turner (9-23).

For those NFL owners who may have forgotten Shell's resume, he coached the Raiders from 1989 to 1994 and his career coaching record is 56-41, with three playoff appearances. Let's put that in perspective: Dick Vermeil's record in Kansas City was 44-36. Bill Parcells is 25-23 with the Cowboys. Herman Edwards is 39-41 with the Jets.

After the Raiders dumped him, Shell, the NFL's first African-American head coach in the modern era, attempted to get another NFL job but received only a handful of interviews. This was in the years prior to the Rooney Rule, which requires teams to speak with at least one minority candidate.

Shell thought he was done with coaching after taking a job in the NFL headquarters a couple of years ago but the bug has hit again. He was one of three candidates to interview with Miami in December 2004 and lost out to Nick Saban. "I'd still like to have one more shot at it," Shell told the Contra Costa Times last month. "If I get a shot, I think I could do a heck of job."

So would anybody who judges NFL coaches on what the likes of Parcells blab is the only thing that matters: Your record. An Hall of a Fame player with that kind of success as a head coach? If Shell were Italian, he'd be Joe Torre.

Is Shell too old at 59? Given that Vermeil retired at 69, Parcells is 64, and Orange Bowl participants Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno are a combined 155, age isn't a factor. Here's hoping race isn't either.

There are now eight head coaching openings in the NFL, and the usual suspects are being bandied about: Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz, Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and Philadelphia offensive coordinator Brad Childress. As far as I can tell, there's only one candidate out there with a .577 winning percentage as an NFL coach -- and a bust in Canton. So if any struggling NFL owners want a winning piece of advice this offseason, here it is:

Hire Art Shell.