Raiders’ Walsh facing an uphill battle in ‘06

By Anthony Carroll  |   Tuesday, June 06, 2006  |  Comments( 26 )

Oakland Raiders
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"If I get back involved, I'm going to bring you with me."

In the world of cinema, that line is the counterpart to "I'll never let go, Jack."

The sentimental value behind Art Shell's decision to bring back Tom Walsh is heart-rending; however, the on-field value behind the decision is something that is yet to be determined.

In a recent interview, Coach Shell commented, "He was ready for it. He and I have been talking for two or three years now about coaching, what's going on in the world of professional football. We'd discuss things and talk about some of the things that are going on in the game, how it's changed since we've coached in it."

Walsh last coached alongside Shell in 1994, winning nine and losing seven in his last offensive-guidance stint. He joined the Silver and Black in 1982, working first with wide receivers and quarterbacks exclusively before climbing the ranks to coordinator. Prior to that, the California-native enrolled in the coaching programs at the University of San Diego, followed by Murray State and the University of Cincinnati.

The Oakland Raiders' official website sings lofty praises in his biography, describing, "During his previous tenure with the Raiders, their record including the postseason was 124-88. The club won the AFC West four times, qualified for the playoffs following six seasons and won the World Championship of Professional Football with a victory in Super Bowl XVIII."

Unfortunately, however, that record included several seasons in which Walsh was working with single positions, as opposed to an entire unit. In fact, after losing occupancy of the Raiders offense, Walsh attempted to once more take over an entire faction. He moved on to control the head coaching role at Idaho State, where he jumped off to a 2-6 campaign. As a result, the college's campaign manager, Richard Bowen, sent Walsh on his way out along with then-athletic director Irv Cross. The school president commented, "A review of the department of intercollegiate athletics has revealed a program that, in my judgment, in many ways is stalled." A 5-14 two-season record by Walsh induced that courtly departure statement in the late months of 1998.

Following his subtraction, Walsh voiced a brief statement concerning his ex-team, saying "The reality is we're a very young ball club, a lot of youth, a lot of talent, a lot of skill, a lot of future. Someone's going to benefit from that, and unfortunately it won't be us."

Sound familiar?

Oakland's starting 22 qualifies as one of the youngest depth charts in the National Football League; however, fortunately for Walsh, much of that youth is leaking from the defensive side of the roster. That fact aside, he still may find himself making a very similar statement by season-end if his mind isn't fully refreshed by Week One of the 2006 regular season.

Friend and ringleader Art Shell is aware that Walsh version 2.0 will need some patch updates. "We'd discuss things and talk about some of the things that are going on in the game--how it's changed since we've coached in it, like the invention of all these zone blitzes. That's probably the number one thing that there is." Along with the strong emergence of the Cover Two defense, the 12-year removed coach will have to cope with the surfacing of faster, more agile defensive ends and new-era linebackers that are both quick in coverage and keen in run-plugging.

The task is undeniably an uphill battle for Tom Walsh to surmount; however, if the offense is coordinated competently in 2006, the hiring will crown Al Davis and Art Shell the '06 geniuses of football human resources.

Otherwise, the consensus in Oakland will commercialize into something close to:

"Walsh's head coaching salary in 1999 at Idaho State: $50,737

Cost for a couple to stay at the 'Wrangler's Cottage' at Walsh's old lodge, the Hansen Guest Ranch: $130 per night

Cost of misleading the Oakland Raiders offense in 2006: Priceless."

"Run Tom, run." The Nation won't be happy.

Anthony Carroll can be contacted at acarroll@realfootball365.com

Get more on Tom Walsh and the Oakland Raiders' coaching staff at Realfootball365.com
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About Anthony Carroll

Anthony Carroll began writing for RealFootball365.com on Sept. 26, 2005, making him one of the longest tenured contributors to the “365” team. As a senior writer, Anthony has taken on the task of delivering original content to the silver and black faithful year round, despite having to deal...
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CommentsComments: 26  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
the hon		05:28 AM
06/06/2006
IM a veteran raider fan Ive been through the good and lots of bad seasons. This year im very concerned about the coaching. Today...
No.2
Raider Rey		07:02 AM
06/06/2006
I fully agree that coaching is probably our biggest question mark because of the vast changes in schemes since Shell last led the...
No.3
Mike		10:58 AM
06/06/2006
This is the big question mark for the 2006 Raiders. Terry Robiske was the main reason for the losses the first time Shell was our...
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