Arthur Lee Shell Jr.[1][2] (born November 26, 1946) is an American former professional football player and coach.

He holds the distinction of becoming the second African American head coach in the history of professional football and the first in the sport's modern era.

Shell attended the segregated Bonds-Wilson High School, which no longer exists, graduating in 1964.

Future NFL and College Football Hall of Fame running back Emerson Boozer was one of his teammates.

Playing offensive tackle, Shell participated in 23 postseason playoff contests in the AFL and NFL,[9] including eight AFC or AFL championship games, a loss in Super Bowl II, and victories in Super Bowls XI and XV.

Shell played next to hall of fame and 100th Anniversary All-Time teammate guard Gene Upshaw in three different decades.

In the NFL's early years, Pollard, an African American running back, was a player-coach for the Hammond (Indiana) Pros from 1923-1925.

Pollard had earlier been a teammate of Paul Robeson on the Akron Pros of the American Professional Football Association.

[3][7] Shell was working for the NFL when he was officially re-hired by the-then Oakland Raiders as head coach on February 11, 2006.

[16] 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.