Brown Wants Shell To Be Next Head Coach Of The Raiders

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Tim Brown said he might not want to remain with the team if Art Shell isn’t named head coach.

“I would have to think long and hard about my future with the Raiders if Art isn’t the guy,” the three-time Pro Bowl selection told Bloomberg News. “I don’t know how many more rebuilding years I have left.”

Shell, a former Oakland player and assistant, coached the Raiders from 1989-94 and is one of three finalists for the job. The other two are New York Jets defensive coordinator Bill Belichick and Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Jon Gruden.

The Raiders declined to respond to Brown’s remarks and said they didn’t have a timetable for naming a new coach. Brown is under agreement with the Raiders until the end of the 1998 season.

Brown blamed the team’s sub-par performance on a lack of discipline.

“Players felt like they could say anything and do anything,” Brown said. “That doesn’t work with Art.”

What about Lewis?

Let’s see: We’ve heard Terry Donahue’s name in connection with the Dallas Cowboys. And Gary Kubiak. George Seifert. Jon Gruden. Gerry DiNardo. Butch Davis. Lou Holtz. Dave Wannstedt. Norv Turner.

We’ve heard just about every name except Sherman Lewis.

As offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers, Lewis ought to be a hot commodity, wrote Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News.

“He’s worked his entire career in the premier system that’s dominating our game today,” Packers general manager Ron Wolf said. “He knows it backward and forward and has four (Super Bowl) rings. I don’t know what else he has to do.”

Lewis can pick up a fifth Super Bowl ring Sunday. But he can’t get a single ring from his telephone.

There were 11 head coaching changes in the NFL last season, and Lewis did not get a single interview. There have been four more openings this off-season, but NFL rules prohibit Lewis from being interviewed until his season is over. That means after the Super Bowl.

Two of the jobs, Buffalo and Indianapolis, already have been filled, and Oakland figures to hire this week. That leaves Dallas, a team sorely in need of an offensive renaissance. Lewis conducted his private campaign for that job Nov. 23, when the Packers played the Cowboys. That day his offense slapped 38 points and 409 yards on the NFL’s second-ranked defense. Jerry Jones watched from the sideline as his Cowboys went down to a 45-17 defeat.

But Lewis’ name has not surfaced on Jones’ short list.

“I’ve told whoever cares to listen that Sherman Lewis should be the No. 1 candidate,” Packers coach Mike Holmgren said. “He deserves his shot, and I hope he gets it. He’ll do a good job if given the chance.”

Broncos’ uniforms give them edge

The Denver Broncos have one considerable advantage over their Super Bowl opponents, the Green Bay Packers: their uniforms.

The blue, orange and white of the Broncos gives them a psychological advantage over the defending Super Bowl champions, whose lighter uniforms make them appear weaker, said an expert in color psychology.

As the designated home team in Super Bowl XXXII, the Broncos had the choice of their home blue or road white jerseys. Since Denver went 9-0 in blue this season, the choice was simple.

It was also smart, said Samuelle Easton, president of Samuelle Easton & Associates, a New York color psychology firm. The more comfortable a team feels, the better it will play, she said.

“Green Bay is a terrific team, however the strength of the blue is going to capture most of the energy,” Easton said. “Denver’s got it.”