Al Davis was one of a kind. \u00a0No other owner – not Mark Cuban, not George Steinbrenner, not Jerry Jones – nobody has embodied the franchise like Al Davis, who went from scout to position coach to head coach to AFL commissioner to “President of the General Partner” – for much of his career, his actual personal ownership stake in the Raiders was only about 15%, but he was the face of the franchise.<\/p>\n
Teams, companies, organizations spend literally millions upon millions of dollars to craft the kind of brand and image that Al Davis achieved for the Raiders as a matter of course. \u00a0And they were all true for him. \u00a0Outlaw? \u00a0Absolutely. \u00a0Maverick? \u00a0Naturally. \u00a0Visionary? \u00a0When he took the helm of the AFL, it was with a mandate to force a confrontation and take on the NFL where they stood. \u00a0He testified on behalf of the USFL when they challenged the NFL in the early 80s. \u00a0He moved his team to Los Angeles, into the teeth of Rams country, and won a Super Bowl into the bargain. \u00a0First franchise to win the Super Bowl from a wild-card berth. \u00a0For years and years, the winningest franchise on Monday Night Football.<\/p>\n
And famously, a guy who called Art Shell into his office, rambled for 20 minutes, and then said “They’re going to talk about you being first. \u00a0Ignore all that. \u00a0You’re getting this job because you’re a Raider.” \u00a0Which is how Art Shell found out he was the first black head coach in the modern NFL. \u00a0Al also made Tom Flores the first Latino coach in the NFL, and hired a woman as his CEO. \u00a0And by contrast, his was the last practice facility to still get by on old-school weights and barbells in an age of plyometrics and resistance training. \u00a0His was the last team to eschew Cover-2 and West Coast offense for vertical passing and “the quarterback must go down and he must go down hard.”<\/p>\n
In a league that is the most hidebound, the most conservative, the most conformist in all of sports, Al Davis was a permanent middle finger. \u00a0A thorn in the side of three commissioners. A guy who was absolutely right about Lane Kiffin. \u00a0An NFL icon in five decades and change.<\/p>\n
Clear skies, Al. \u00a0Thanks for the commitment to excellence.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Al Davis was one of a kind. \u00a0No other owner – not Mark Cuban, not George Steinbrenner, not Jerry Jones – nobody has embodied the franchise like Al Davis, who went from scout to position coach to head coach to AFL commissioner to “President of the General Partner” – for much of his career, his … <\/p>\n