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Ranking the top-five Raiders head coaches in franchise history

By Khaled Abdallah

PASADENA, CA- JANUARY 9: Head Coach John Madden of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Raiders won the Super Bowl 32 -14. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA- JANUARY 9: Head Coach John Madden of the Oakland Raiders celebrates after they defeated the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Raiders won the Super Bowl 32 -14. (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images) /
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Raiders head coach ArtShell (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary)
Raiders head coach ArtShell (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary) /

5. Art Shell (1989-1994, 2006)

For the younger fans this may be an interesting choice, as they likely remember Art Shell more for the disastrous 2006 season when the Raiders finished an NFL-worst 2-14. By this time, it was clear that the NFL may have passed Shell by, and a layoff of more than a decade from the game was too much to overcome.

Before that 2006 season, Shell coached the Raiders for six years from 1989 to 1994 and had just one losing season, going 7-9 in 1992. The Raiders were not able to win a ring during his reign but they were consistent playoff contenders and one of the best defensive teams in the NFL.

If you remove the 2006 season from his record, Shell went 54-38 for a .586 winning percentage. This would put him just behind the legendary Al Davis in winning percentage with more than twice the amount of games coached.

Shell’s reputation suffered greatly after returning to the Raiders during one of the worst periods in franchise history but that does not diminish his accomplishments during his first stint. He was the first African-American coach to lead an NFL team to a conference championship game when he did so in 1990 and was unfairly fired after a 9-7 finish in 1994.

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