Post by Lithfan on Oct 9, 2015 7:01:18 GMT -5
October 9, 1989
When ABC released their Monday NIght broadcast schedule, they could not have been expecting a week 5 Raiders-Jets matchup between two last place 1-3 teams. The story lines would change, however, less than a week before kickoff.
A week earlier, the Raiders lost 24-20 to Seattle, their 3rd consecutive loss. The ongoing feud between Raider owner Al Davis and Head Coach Mike Shanahan boiled over and Shanahan was relieved of his duties. As his replacement, Davis hired former Raider Hall of Fame OT, Art Shell. Shell had been an offensive line coach for the Raiders since 1983, and became the first African American Head Coach in the NFL since Fritz Pollard coached the Hammond Pros in the 1920s.
"If other black coaches are able to make some headway because of my being the first, then fine; I'll be very proud of that," Shell commented before the game. "I'm proud of being a black man. I'm proud of being a black coach. But first and foremost, I'm the coach of the Raiders. I'll be judged by Mr. Davis on my won-loss record."
Video below is part of the opening segment from that Monday NIght Game (quality of the video is poor, could not find anything better):
The game itself was a dull affair, still scoreless at the end of the first half. The Raiders made just enough plays in the 2nd half to pull out a 14-7 victory for their new coach. Early in the 3rd quarter, from their own 27, QB Jay Schroeder hit WR Mervyn Fernandez on an out pattern. A couple of broken tackles and 73 yards later, the Raiders had a 7-0 lead. Ken O’Brien and the Jets responded with a 15 play 97-yard drive that was capped off by Roger Vick’s 1 yard TD run.
O’Brien threw for nearly 350 yards on the day, but made a critical mistake in the 4th quarter, throwing an interception that was returned 87 yards for a TD by Eddie Anderson. The Jets made one last trip to the red zone, but could get no farther than the Raiders 11 yard line. A holding penalty set them back to the 21 for the game’s final play. When O’Brien’s pass to the end zone fell incomplete, Art Shell walked away with his first coaching victory, 14-7 over the Jets.
Shell would restore the Raiders to respectability as they finished that season 8-8 and made the playoffs in 3 of the next 4 seasons. As for the Jets, they would finish 4-12, and the offseason would turn out to be one that would haunt the Jets for years. It was bad enough that they would select Blair Thomas with the number 2 overall pick in the 1990 draft.. But the one that really blew up on the Jets was their 2nd round selection that season.
WIth the 3rd pick of the 2nd round of that draft, the Jets selected WR Reggie Rembert from West Virginia. Rembert had expected to go in the first round, and held out for first round money which the Jets refused to pay. Embroiled in a contract dispute with Rembert, the Jets took advantage of the opportunity to select Rob Moore, WR from Syracuse, in the 1st round of the Supplemental Draft. The selection of Moore meant they would have to give up their first round pick in the 1991 draft, which ultimately cost them the opportunity to draft the young QB they desperately wanted, Brett Favre. He went one pick ahead of the Jets in the 2nd round to the Atlanta Falcons. After adding Moore, the Jets dealt the rights to Rembert to Cincinnati for 2 linemen: Joe Kelly and Scott Jones.
While there is no guarantee that they would not have selected Moore in the Supplemental if contract negotiations with Rembert had gone well, it would certainly seem to be less likely. Instead of potentially getting Favre, the Jets took Browning Nagle with the following pick.
Sources: Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post & The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
When ABC released their Monday NIght broadcast schedule, they could not have been expecting a week 5 Raiders-Jets matchup between two last place 1-3 teams. The story lines would change, however, less than a week before kickoff.
A week earlier, the Raiders lost 24-20 to Seattle, their 3rd consecutive loss. The ongoing feud between Raider owner Al Davis and Head Coach Mike Shanahan boiled over and Shanahan was relieved of his duties. As his replacement, Davis hired former Raider Hall of Fame OT, Art Shell. Shell had been an offensive line coach for the Raiders since 1983, and became the first African American Head Coach in the NFL since Fritz Pollard coached the Hammond Pros in the 1920s.
"If other black coaches are able to make some headway because of my being the first, then fine; I'll be very proud of that," Shell commented before the game. "I'm proud of being a black man. I'm proud of being a black coach. But first and foremost, I'm the coach of the Raiders. I'll be judged by Mr. Davis on my won-loss record."
Video below is part of the opening segment from that Monday NIght Game (quality of the video is poor, could not find anything better):
The game itself was a dull affair, still scoreless at the end of the first half. The Raiders made just enough plays in the 2nd half to pull out a 14-7 victory for their new coach. Early in the 3rd quarter, from their own 27, QB Jay Schroeder hit WR Mervyn Fernandez on an out pattern. A couple of broken tackles and 73 yards later, the Raiders had a 7-0 lead. Ken O’Brien and the Jets responded with a 15 play 97-yard drive that was capped off by Roger Vick’s 1 yard TD run.
O’Brien threw for nearly 350 yards on the day, but made a critical mistake in the 4th quarter, throwing an interception that was returned 87 yards for a TD by Eddie Anderson. The Jets made one last trip to the red zone, but could get no farther than the Raiders 11 yard line. A holding penalty set them back to the 21 for the game’s final play. When O’Brien’s pass to the end zone fell incomplete, Art Shell walked away with his first coaching victory, 14-7 over the Jets.
Shell would restore the Raiders to respectability as they finished that season 8-8 and made the playoffs in 3 of the next 4 seasons. As for the Jets, they would finish 4-12, and the offseason would turn out to be one that would haunt the Jets for years. It was bad enough that they would select Blair Thomas with the number 2 overall pick in the 1990 draft.. But the one that really blew up on the Jets was their 2nd round selection that season.
WIth the 3rd pick of the 2nd round of that draft, the Jets selected WR Reggie Rembert from West Virginia. Rembert had expected to go in the first round, and held out for first round money which the Jets refused to pay. Embroiled in a contract dispute with Rembert, the Jets took advantage of the opportunity to select Rob Moore, WR from Syracuse, in the 1st round of the Supplemental Draft. The selection of Moore meant they would have to give up their first round pick in the 1991 draft, which ultimately cost them the opportunity to draft the young QB they desperately wanted, Brett Favre. He went one pick ahead of the Jets in the 2nd round to the Atlanta Falcons. After adding Moore, the Jets dealt the rights to Rembert to Cincinnati for 2 linemen: Joe Kelly and Scott Jones.
While there is no guarantee that they would not have selected Moore in the Supplemental if contract negotiations with Rembert had gone well, it would certainly seem to be less likely. Instead of potentially getting Favre, the Jets took Browning Nagle with the following pick.
Sources: Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post & The Spartanburg Herald-Journal
