Al Davis: Art Shell and 5 NFL Coaches Who Owe Most to Oakland Raiders Owner

A lot has been made about the Bill Billichick coaching tree and before him, Bill Walsh. However, Al Davis had his own success in building great careers in the NFL. 

Over the course of nearly a half century, Al Davis has built a brand with the Oakland Raiders. He has sued the NFL, moved his franchise two separate times, won Super Bowls, broken color barriers, hired the first female executive and the Latino head coach. 

In memory, I want to focus on five head coaches, current or retired, who owe their success to the late Al Davis.

Jim Harbaugh: Oakland Raiders Quarterback Coach, 2002-2003

Before Jim Harbaugh turned around a struggling Stanford Cardinal program and won the Orange Bowl last season; before Harbaugh became the hottest coaching candidate this previous offseason and before he got the call to coach one of the most storied franchises in NFL history, the San Francisco 49ers: he was the Raiders' quarterback coach in 2002 and 2003.

Al Davis and then coach Bill Callahan tabbed Jim Harbuagh to be the Raiders' quarterback coach in his first opportunity as a coach in the NFL.

In two seasons with Oakland, Jim Harbaugh turned around the career of a journeyman quarterback, Rich Gannon and helped the Raiders to the Super Bowl. 

Gannon would to on to make the Pro Bowl in each season, earn first team All-Pro honors in 2002, while leading the NFL in passing yards.

If it wasn't for this hire, there is no telling how the "Gannon experiment" would have played out and Jim Harbaugh wouldn't be coaching the San Francisco 49ers right now.

Jim Harbaugh owes his success in college and thus far in the NFL to the late Al Davis. 

Art Shell: Former Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders Head Coach

Al Davis drafted Art Shell out of Maryland Eastern Shore in 1968 and the rest is history. He ended up playing in the Pro Bowl eight times during a Hall of Fame career. 

The year after Shell retired in 1982, he was pegged by the Raiders as an assistant coach. After seven seasons as an assistant, Shell was named the Raiders' head coach in 1989. 

Shell went 54-38 in his first stint as the Raiders' head man from 1989-1994. 

Regretting the firing of Shell, Al Davis re-hired him in 2006 but the success that Shell saw making the playoffs three times in his first stint wasn't repeated: he went 2-14. 

Still, Al Davis remains the only owner to ever give Shell a chance as an NFL head coach and for that the latter owes his career to Davis.

Mike Shanahan: Former Los Angeles Raiders Head Coach, Current Redskins Coach

The marriage between Al Davis and Mike Shanahan didn't end on a good note. He was fired after a 1-3 start in his second season with the Los Angeles Raiders, only to be replaced by the aforementioned Art Shell. 

However, the chance that Davis gave Shanahan vaulted his career to unforeseen success.

Shanahan replaced Wade Phillips as the Denver Broncos' head coach in 1995 and the rest is history. He became the Broncos' all-time leader in wins in 14 seasons as head coach, winning back-to-back Super Bowls in 1997 and 1998.

John Madden: Hall of Fame Head Coach of the Oakland Raiders, 1969-1978

Long before John Madden became a video game franchise and brand name, he was one of the greatest head coaches in the history of the NFL.

In 10 seasons as the Raiders' head coach, Madden finished with a .763 winning percentage, second to only Vince Lombardi. He led Oakland to a Super Bowl championship in 1976 after a 13-1 season. 

This all became possible after Al Davis promoted Madden from linebackers coach in 1969. 

Give me a break, that has to be the single greatest coaching hire in the history of the NFL. Especially, considering that Davis was criticized for hiring a coach without coordinator experience at the time.

Bill Walsh: 3-Time Super Bowl-Winning Head Coach for the San Francisco 49ers

I am sure that many of you didn't expect Bill Walsh to be part of this article, but omitting him would be foolhardy. 

Bill Walsh's first job as an NFL coach was under Al Davis with the Oakland Raiders in 1966. He was brought in to be the running backs coach and was there for just one season.

It could be concluded that if Al Davis didn't give Bill Walsh a chance he would have never turned out to be one of the greatest head coaches in NFL history. 

Fourteen years following his first coaching job, Bill Walsh was hired to be the head coach of a struggling San Francisco 49ers franchise. After going 8-24 in his first two seasons with the 49ers, Walsh would shock the world and defeat "America's Team," the Dallas Cowboys, in the 1981 NFC Championship game. 

The rest is history. 

San Francisco won three Super Bowl titles in Walsh's 10 seasons as head coach.