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The Curse of the Mastermind: The Hex Haunting The Raiders Since Firing Mike Shanahan
Paperback
ISBN13: 9789888968329
Publisher: Earnshaw Books Ltd
Published: Oct 13 2026
Pages: 276
Weight: 0.64
Height: 0.69 Width: 5.50 Depth: 8.50
Language: English
In 1988, the Raiders hired Mike Shanahan as the first head coach brought in from outside their revered organization.
It was a pairing that wasn't destined to last. Tension behind the scenes, squabbles among assistant coaches, longtime players departing...the Raiders' once-proud legacy began to unravel.
Shanahan was shown the door the following year.
But was he the problem? Should the Raiders have kept him while he developed his more modern offense?
After being fired, Shanahan went elsewhere, won Super Bowls, and eventually built a coaching tree that now towers like a redwood over the rest of the NFL...all while earning the nickname The Mastermind.
As for the Raiders, from Bo Jackson to Barret Robbins and beyond, it's been a seemingly unending journey of misery. Fluke plays, bizarre happenstances, and one hex that continues to haunt the franchise.
Can they ever snap out of it?
Only if they ever conquer The Curse of the Mastermind.
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