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Art Shell Interview: A Total Sham, the NFL Should Be Held to Account

Discussion in 'The Tiger's Den' started by TejasTiger, Dec 20, 2004.

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TejasTiger Founding Member

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Art Shell is interviewing with the Dolphins today (Monday)?

What a total sham! This is the sort of thing I'd expect from Major League Baseball, not the NFL.

What's the "this" to which I refer? The fact that the league is enabling Miami's transparent disregard for the league policy regarding minority coaching interviews by using their current Vice President of Football Operations as the "token" coaching candidate.

Art Shell has made zero pronouncements since taking the VP job concerning head coaching positions. This is, flat out, the NFL using one of its very own senior officers to circumvent their VERY OWN POLICY.

How freaking weak. :dis: :dis: :dis:

TejasTiger, Dec 20, 2004

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lsu92 Founding Member

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I wonder if Art Shell is extorting money from Miami to do this interview. If not, it is degrating that he would take this interview.

lsu92, Dec 20, 2004

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65Grad Maturity is Overrated

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Rumor has it that he is getting $100,000 to be the designated token. :dis:

65Grad, Dec 20, 2004

#3
TejasTiger Founding Member

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Texican said:

The NFL isnt doing it, the Dolphins are. The NFL is allowing it because they don't have a choice. If a loophole exists in their rules and someone finds it they can't exactly change it on the fly.
Click to expand...

You must be kidding. You can't tell me that the NFL is totally out of the loop on this one.

I mean, Art Shell gets a cush VP gig with the league, shows zero interest in any of the jobs open over the past year (he hasn't been a HC in 5 years), and all of a sudden wants the Dolphins job, even though he's said nothing about wanting the job in the six weeks since Wanny left? If Art still wanted to be a HC, he'd have stayed a coach and not become a front-office guy.

Of course the NFL's fingerprints are all over this one! Hell, perhaps they offered him the gig to serve as a "token" candidate in a pinch, just like he is in Miami.

I expect to see Art all of a sudden develop "interest" in the Saints, Rams, Browns and Raiders any day now...LOL.

TejasTiger, Dec 20, 2004

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LSUGradin99 I Bleedeth Purple 'N Gold

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This is a serious interview. Shell may get the job. I wish him the best of luck.

LSUGradin99, Dec 20, 2004

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TejasTiger Founding Member

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The infamous ProFootballTalk.com connects the Art Shell and the Dolphins dots, too:

SHANNON TELLS FINS TO SHOVE IT

The Miami Herald reports that University of Miami defensive coordinator Randy Shannon has declined the offer/request/bended-knee pleadings of the Dolphins to sit for what amounts to a token interview for the team's head coaching vacancy.

Actually, Shannon's interview isn't a classic token interview. League office employee Art Shell is filling that role for the Dolphins, on Monday. Shannon's interview, in our view, is an effort to take some of the obvious heat that will land on the Fins and the NFL for using Shell to prevent a seven-figure fine for the team, and a Christmas week P.R. mess for the league.

Said Shannon, "I hate getting involved in black-and-white issues. That's me. You have to understand."

Shannon added that "of course" he would interview if the session were offered based on ability not race.

"But do you think they're going to hire me?" he said. "Let's be honest. Why should I waste my time?"

Shell, on the other hand, "is turning down no interviews no matter who calls," according to the Herald.

In other words, as long as the NFL continues to give Shell a big fat salary to serve in a vice presidential capacity that likely involves little actual shirt-sleeves-and-midnight-oil work, each of the 32 franchises will have a quick and easy pathway to compliance with the Rooney Rule.

This ironclad opportunity for superficial compliance with the rule demonstrates how stupid the thing is. We know the diversity committee had good intentions, but the chosen solution does nothing to solve the problem of under-representation of minorities in key positions of authority with NFL teams.

Having Art Shell ready and willing to sit for any and all interviews, even though he hasn't been a head coach in a decade, renders the whole thing meaningless. And meaningless it will remain until the NFL takes steps to develop more African-American coordinators -- and until the NFL does some arm-twisting at the 100-plus universities that routinely fail to offer head coaching jobs to qualified black candidates.

Ain't it ironic? Guys like Rush Limbaugh constantly carp about how supposedly liberal these bastions of higher education are. Meanwhile, virtually all of the head coaching gigs are handed to white candidates.

And please don't give us that Jimmy the Greek/Al Campanis garbage that whites are better suited to coach than blacks. Even if there's a natural disparity (which there ain't), there still should be more than two or three out of 120 NCAA programs with a head coach whose skin is the same color as the majority of the players on the team.
Click to expand...

Too bad Randy Shannon has zero HC experience. He's considered a real up and comer, but no HC experience.

TejasTiger, Dec 20, 2004

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ChineseBandit Founding Member

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Shell could make a career of this if he plays his cards right. Maybe, 100k under the table in return for avoiding an even bigger fine.

"Own an NFL Team? Can't hire the guy you want for fear of penalty under the Rooney Rule? Call me, ART SHELL, for all your Rooney avoidance needs. A mere 100k gets you free and clear to your way to that white guy you really want to hire. You can reach my agent at..."

ChineseBandit, Dec 20, 2004

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staysaban.com Founding Member

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money

I could just about guarantee shell is getting some compensation for his visit to Miami. Please tell me that Art Shell is not that stupid to think that he's got a snowballs chance in hell at that job. Please tell me that shell understands that the dolphins are just wasting his time and shooting the bull with him. He is getting some jack for his time down in Miami.(shell)

Miami can suck it. I hope Hizenga or however you spell his name loses ever game next year regardless who's there coach. Marino turned down the job because it was just a figure job.

staysaban.com, Dec 20, 2004

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staysaban.com Founding Member

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65grad

what do you think about what i just said?

staysaban.com, Dec 20, 2004

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MikeD Sports Genius

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I don't think it's a total sham. He's being interviewed and if Saban doesn't want it, as he's clearly the number one choice, then Shell will be in contention for the job. Maybe he's taking all the interviews because he wants to coach in the NFL again and the job probably pays a bit more than the VP job with the NFL.

His record was 56-41 in six seasons with the Raiders so he can coach.

The guys getting really screwed are the black assistants who can't interview with another NFL team until their current teams are done with the season. The Patriots D-coordinator probably missed out on a HC position because by the time the Super Bowl was over, empty coaching positions had been filled by assistants from teams already finished with the season.

MikeD, Dec 20, 2004

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