Al Davis Art Shell

The and owner Al Davis appear to either be back to square one in their head coaching search or ready to bring a former coach back into the fold. Media sources are reporting that both Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator Kevin Whisenhunt and Louisville head coach Bobby Petrino have withdrawn their names from consideration for the Raiders coaching vacancy. Whisenhunt hopped a flight for Alameda, California following the Steelers Super Bowl victory parade on Tuesday, where he met with Davis and senior personnel executive Michael Lombardi. The interview seemed to go very well, but on Thursday, Whisenhunt told the Raiders he had decided to stay in Pittsburgh. The team had also talked to, and reportedly offered the head coaching position to Petrino, but he also decided to stay with his current team. Last week while announcing the Cardinals new recruits, he denied any interest in the Raiders job, or any other job the NFL. Davis and Lombardi have also officially interviewed Al Saunders, James Lofton and Rod Marinelli. They've also had conversations with former St. Louis Rams coach Mike Martz and current Oakland quarterbacks coach John Shoop, as well as former Raiders head coach, Art Shell, who may now be the frontrunner. Davis admitted to making a mistake when he fired Shell in 1994 after he went 54-38 during his six years at the helm, including an appearance in the AFC Championship game in 1990. The 59-year old Shell currently works for the NFL as the league's senior vice president of football operations.