Mike Shanahan might be saying nice things about Al Davis right now, but back in the day? Not so much. Not so much nice anything really. (HT Mike Prada of SB Nation DC)
Rick Maese of the Washington Post wrote up about an incident that occured when Shanahan had left the Raiders organization and were playing his old boss.
Davis, as he does before almost every game, was walking the field, talking to players and others. Shanahan pulled [then-49ers quarterback Elvis] Grbac aside, Grbac recalled, and gave an unusual order: ''See Al Davis over there? I want you to throw the ball right at him.''
A shocked Grbac replied: ''I can't do that. If I hit him, do you know what he could do to me?''
Shanahan looked at Grbac with his intense glare and said, ''Throw the ball.''
Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle had his own story when Shanahan was with the Broncos.
The enmity between these two teams already is considerable. Now comes this: Shanahan has said he will forget about the $250,000 he says Davis still owes him -- if Davis donates the money (plus interest) to the Oakland schools.
The schools should not expect a check anytime soon. Raiders chief executive Amy Trask insisted the Raiders owe Shanahan nothing. She said he owes the Raiders money, to repay a loan they provided upon his hiring.
"I find it disturbing that every year, like clockwork, Mr. Shanahan raises this issue prior to the time the Broncos play the Raiders," Trask said yesterday. "He wants to talk about schoolchildren?