Shell of their former selves

Art Shell may not have been the man to save the most dysfunctional franchise in the NFL from itself, as he was in 1989, but if Al Davis truly believes firing him solves the problems of what has become a league laughingstock, he hasn't been paying much attention.

What's wrong with the Raiders? "Everything" would be a good place to start, but if that's too broad, how about this? It employs players who elected Randy Moss team captain.

Team captain? Moss can barely lead himself to the huddle, let alone a team to victory. Team captain? No thinking man would follow the guy into a bank vault if he had the keys to the place, let alone into a Sunday afternoon street fight. Team captain? How about team cancer?

And then there's the organization, although calling what's going on out there an "organization" is like saying they have a government in Iraq. There are people in offices but that doesn't mean anyone is in charge. Top to bottom, side to side, the place needs an airing out. To call the place "chaotic" is to insult the term, not the team.

A year ago, for example, not long after Shell was hired to replace Norv Turner (who had been hired two years earlier to replace Bill Callahan, who had been hired two years earlier to replace Jon Gruden, who had, well, you get the idea) there was an organizational meeting to interview free agent Aaron Brooks, the failed New Orleans Saints quarterback. One of the assistant coaches who was there recently revealed, "He wasn't with us for five minutes and I hated the guy. He didn't take responsibility for anything that happened in New Orleans. He was their quarterback and he had nothing to do with their problems or the losses. After he left, I thought, 'What are we talking to this guy for?' Next thing I know he's our quarterback."

Next weekend, the Brooks-less Saints will host an NFC playoff game at the Superdome. The Raiders will host candidates for Shell's job, a hiring process they're well versed in. Interviewing coaching candidates is how Davis has spent most of this decade. The Raiders are 15-49 the last four years and have burned through three coaches in the last five, so Davis knows the drill. What he no longer knows how to do is convince the best candidates that the job is worth taking.

Last year, Davis spoke with Louisville coach Bobby Petrino and Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt long before he got to Shell. Whisenhunt was so enthralled he refused to come back for a second interview and Petrino left the Bay area thinking Louisville looked pretty good by comparison. It took Davis nearly six weeks to hire Shell after firing Turner, by which time most of the top assistant coaches on the market had been hired.

That may not be the only reason Shell ended up getting the hiring of his friend, Tom Walsh, approved by Davis, but if the boss lets you hand over the offense to a guy who's been managing a bed-and-breakfast in Idaho for the past half decade, he has no clue what time it is anymore. It was Shell's mistake, as was the hiring of inexperienced Jackie Slater and Irv Eatmann to coach an offensive line that lacks both talent and backbone. But nothing gets done in Oakland that Davis doesn't sign off on, so he bears the ultimately responsibility for the commitment to decadence that is now the Raiders in Oakland.

Having said that, Shell did not do well in his latest chance as a head coach, which came 12 years after Davis fired him after a 9-7 season in 1994. If he finished 9-7 today, Davis would have had him carried out of the Coliseum like Caesar coming into Rome, yet as poorly as Shell's 2-14 team performed, it's nothing new in Oakland.

The Raiders have not made the playoffs since being slapped around by another former Davis employee, Gruden, four years ago in Super Bowl XXXVII. Since then, they haven't come close to a winning season.

While Davis still talks about Super Bowls, he has a team that isn't competitive in its own division, let alone the conference. The Raiders are 2-22 in the AFC West the past four years and haven't won a division game since Nov. 28, 2004, when they beat the Broncos by a point, 25-24. If you can't win a division game, it's hard to win the Super Bowl. In fact, play that bad and it's probably hard to get a ticket to the Super Bowl unless someone in the (dis)organization knows Mike Tice.

To call what Al Davis has in Oakland these days an organization is like calling chaos meditation, but at least they still wear the right colors. A team as dead as this one should be dressed in black.

A patriot draws inspiration

Sometimes we forget that, for some, it will be much more than a football game this afternoon in Foxborough.

Brian Gilfeather is a Navy doctor in charge of a combat operational stress team in Kuwait. He e-mailed this space last week to express his hopes for a Patriot victory today, but also to remind us that for many people fighting overseas, NFL football, and the Patriots in particular, are an inspiration as well as a pastime.

"The single-mindedness of Coach [Bill ] Belichick, the passion of Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi and Corey Dillon as well as the dedication of the entire team brings out the 'better angels of our nature,' " Gilfeather wrote. "I am proud of my New England roots and wanted you and the Patriots to know that I am honored to be here in service to you all and that you 'elevate my game' also."

Quincy-born and -bred, Gilfeather had a clear path to becoming a Patriot fan. At home he still has a Patriot jersey with No. 81 on it, the same number his cousin, Jim Colclough, wore when he was a star receiver for the Patriots in the AFL years of the franchise. Now well past childish obsessions with sports, he still has a love for the Patriots because, "The passion of the team in the Belichick Era (and his Navy roots!) is the same passion I experience with my colleagues in all the armed services," Gilfeather wrote. "Fighting as a team, putting common goals above personal wants, are both uniquely gridiron and American qualities. The New England Patriots and the United States Navy, Army & Marine Corps so much embody this for me and many of my colleagues.

"I wanted to ask you if you would pay special tribute to SGT Philip Grenier of Worcester, who gave his life in 1983 for those of us (US Medical Students) in Grenada. It is because of his and his family's sacrifice that I joined the US Navy. Every day I remind myself of the sacrifice he and others have made for our freedom. It humbles me greatly."

For Saban, it's a no-fault divorce from the Dolphins

Nick Saban not only lied for several weeks about his future in Miami, he then threw the personnel department he hand-picked and ran roughshod over under the bus on the way out.

Sounding as disingenuous as he did last month when he said he would not be the coach at Alabama, Bill Belichick's best friend in coaching said in his final hours in Miami, "I don't know how to say this because I don't want to throw anybody under the bus, but the personnel people in the building -- that's huge. That's where you gain an advantage."

Saban went on to imply that his personnel department didn't bring him that edge or the players he wanted. That's funny, he made the final decisions on personnel and said he personally scouted every player in the draft and in free agency with a 6.0 grade. In addition, according to a well-placed source in the organization, the personnel department could not even call a meeting unless he OK'd it.

"Everybody has to be loyal and obedient to do what you want done," Saban said after breaking his contract and being disloyal to owner Wayne Huizenga and all the coaches and staff people he brought to Miami when he took over two years ago.

As for not wanting to throw anyone under the bus, there's an easy way to avoid that. Don't do it.

Mr. Accountability is one of those bosses who insists on everyone being accountable but him. He leaves Miami with a 15-17 record that was the fault of everyone in South Florida but Nick Saban (if you believe him), from the medical staff to the personnel staff to the lawn-care staff.

After all, doesn't everyone believe he only left for Alabama because his wife didn't like life in the big city and longed for a small-town existence in Tuscaloosa? Considering that she said earlier that she had to call her husband's secretary to tell her what gifts she wanted for the holidays, it seems unlikely she was driving the station wagon to Alabama with Nick in the backseat nodding his head and saying, "Yes, dear."

What drove Saban to Alabama was the knowledge that he had blown the choice on a quarterback when he took Daunte Culpepper over Drew Brees (for which he loyally blamed the medical staff), that he had the oldest defense in the AFC, and that he can't schedule Eastern Washington, Western Michigan, and Northern Iowa to kick start an NFL season.

Etc.

Some guys are just not that sympathetic to their teammates' plight. When Texans cornerback Dunta Robinson heard that running back Domanick Davis, who was on injured reserve all season with a sore knee, had changed his name to Domanick Williams and his number from 37 to 31, he reacted this way: "He changed his name, his number, and his look. I hope he changed his knee."

Working for Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio is a dangerous proposition. He sacked five assistants last week after going 8-8 and is now working on his third offensive coordinator in four years and third special teams coach in five. Getting Pete Rodriguez, the special teams coach of the decade in the 1990s, was considered a coup in 2004, and Rodriguez improved the special teams rankings the last two years. But the Jaguars were burned by several big plays this year, including punt returns for touchdowns by Indianapolis and Buffalo and a blocked punt for a touchdown by Kansas City.

Old friend David Givens is still on crutches but finally spoke last week about the season-ending knee injury he sustained Nov. 12 against Baltimore, and he spoke like a guy no longer playing for Bill Belichick. "I tore my meniscus, my meniscus had to be repaired, I broke a bone in my knee and I had to have some bone plugs put in the spot where the bone was broken, and I had the ACL torn and that was repaired," said Givens. "There were a few things that were done. The doctors have seen it before. The plan is to just get back on my feet, start walking in a couple weeks, and really just move on from there."

Chiefs coach Herman Edwards lashed out at critics who claimed his team backed into the playoffs, reminding them that his team won while those ahead of his lost last Sunday. True enough, but if he was so sure the Chiefs would get in, why did he place veteran tight end Jason Dunn and offensive tackle Kyle Turley on injured reserve before the season finale against Jacksonville so he could elevate practice squaders Casey Printers, Chris Hannon, and William Kershaw to the 53-man roster? By placing them on the final 53-man roster, it protects them from being poached by another team this offseason, but Dunn was one of the key blockers in the Chiefs' running game. The Chiefs claimed after the fact that they made the move with Dunn because doctors wouldn't clear him to play after discovering he has a herniated disk in his back in Week 16, but Dunn said he's played with the injury for six weeks. He also claimed Chiefs assistant general manager Denny Thum told him the staff regretted placing him on IR and wouldn't have done it if they thought they were going to qualify for the playoffs.

The Falcons received permission Wednesday to interview Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and San Francisco 49ers assistant head coach Mike Singletary, and they interviewed Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt Thursday. None has been an NFL head coach. By interviewing Rivera, 44, who is Puerto Rican, and Singletary, an African-American, the Falcons will have met NFL-mandated requirements to consider minority candidates.

Wide receiver Mike Furrey signed with Detroit in March and was at the bottom of the depth chart. He played safety in St. Louis in 2005 and intercepted four passes. The previous two years, he played wide receiver sparingly. This season, he led the NFC with 98 receptions and will be a free agent in March. Now there's a contract drive.

Ernie Accorsi is packing his bags, retiring as Giants GM at the end of this season, and will have no say in the future of Tom Coughlin and is probably glad of it. He'll be in Florida next month to work on a book about his experiences in the NFL and plans to travel extensively next fall. "I love baseball, so I'm going to rent a car for five weeks, and go to just about every baseball stadium I've never been to," he said. "I want to go to Presidential museums along the way, Eisenhower and Truman. I want to go see the Field of Dreams, to see minor league games. I want to go to Yellowstone, Yosemite, Squaw Valley. And I'm going to do one thing that's out of the way. I'm going to Commerce, Okla., and see the garage where the home plate is still painted on, where Mickey Mantle's father threw a tennis ball to him and taught him how to switch hit. I'm NFL-ed out. I'm still a fan, but I'm ready to retire."

It won't take all that long for Bill Parcells to decide on his future in Dallas. There's a clause in his contract that he must decide by the fifth day after the Super Bowl, which will be Feb. 9, whether he will coach next season. Owner Jerry Jones keeps saying he wants Parcells back, even though he admitted being disgusted with his team's play at the end of the season following a loss to the lowly Lions that cost Detroit the No. 1 pick in April's draft. Parcells has been paid roughly $20 million over the last four years and is due another $5 million-$6 million next season if he stays. Which isn't likely.

Ron Borges's e-mail address is borges@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.