raidernation92

[raidernation92]

Former Raider play and Raider Head Coach, Art Shell

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Raiders Owner Al Davis with Raiders CEO Amy Trask

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Mr. Davis

Born on July 4, 1929 in Brockton, Massachusetts, Al Davis was ahead of his time. He is “ the only person to have served pro football in such varied capacities as (1) a player personnel assistant, (2) an assistant coach, (3) a head coach, (4) a general manager, (5) a league commissioner and (6) the principal owner and chief executive officer of an NFL team” (Pro Football Hall of Fame). He is best known for being the principle owner and general manager of the Raiders. When Mr. Davis came along as the new general manager and head coach of the team, he took the miserable 9-33-0 record team and evolved them into being one of the most decorated and feared team in professional sports with a record of 23-26-3 over a three-year span (Pro Football Hall of Fame). Davis would go on to become the commissioner of the AFL shortly after his booming success as head coach and was involved with the AFL-NFL merger that created the league we know today. One prominent aspect of his character and philosophy was that he would appoint individuals that were best suited for the job, regardless of race, sex, creed or any other arbitrary characteristic. Davis was the first owner to appoint a female as CEO of the franchise in league history. That CEO is Amy Trask. Another appointment of leadership was that the Raiders had the first Black head coach in the modern era. A player from the past known as Art Shell. As mentioned before Al Davis was ahead of his time and did not need the implementation of the Rooney rule, which is an established rule in the NFL that requires teams to interview ethnic-minorities for head coach and football operation positions. In my opinion this rule should be the Al Davis rule because he was a pioneer in giving opportunities to those that other teams would never consider. I wonder what Mr. Davis would have done if he were still alive today with the news about Brian Flores, a Black former head coach for the Miami Dolphins who was fired for exposing the organization of bribing him to lose games with payment incentives. There is no doubt in my mind Mr. Davis would give Flores a shot in the organization. Not because of the color of his skin, but because of the football intelligence Flores possesses. What do you think? Was Al Davis a progressive thinker with his decisions on changing the game of football both on and off the field?

[raidernation92]

"I always wanted to take an organization and make it the best in sports. I admired the New York Yankees of George Weiss for their power, intimidation, fear, and big people. I admired the Brooklyn Dodgers under Branch Rickey for their speed and player development. I felt there was no reason the two approaches couldn’t be combined into one powerful organization.”

Al Davis

[raidernation92]

Mr. Davis