Through Al Davis, Shell is a member of the Sid Gillmancoaching tree. As coach of the Raiders (at the time located in Los Angeles), Shell compiled a record of 54 wins, 38 losses, and was named AFC Coach of the Year in 1990, when the Raiders won the AFC West division with a 12–4 record, and advanced to the AFC championship game in the playoffs, becoming the first African-American coach to lead the team to the Conference Championship game. Al Davis, owner of the Raiders, fired Shell after a 9–7 season in 1994, a move Davis later called "a mistake."
After the Raiders
After leaving the Raiders, Shell went on to coaching positions with the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons, before serving as a senior vice president for the NFL, in charge of football operations.
2006 return to Raiders
Shell was officially re-hired by the-then Oakland Raiders as head coach on February 11, 2006. After leading the team to its worst record (2 wins, 14 losses) since 1962, despite having one of the best defenses, Shell was fired for the second time as head coach of the Raiders on January 4, 2007.[3]
Shell is the father of Billie Dureyea Shell, the author of the Unfaithful book trilogy, and the great uncle of Brandon Shell, an offensive lineman who was drafted in 2016 by the New York Jets.[5]