Back in the day, Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan had a brief, tumultuous run as a head coach for the late Al Davis and the Oakland Raiders (then in Los Angeles). In his first press conference since Davis' death, Shanahan spoke diplomatically of the Raiders owner, though he did get a jab in of his own. Via Chris Russell of ESPN 980.
Shanahan on Al Davis "i never met a guy with more passion...I wasn't with him long (some laughs from media)."
But that jab pales in comparison to what Shanahan did back in the 1990s, according to this New York Times article written by Mike Freeman (now at CBS Sports) and dug up by Rick Maese of the Washington Post.
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.''
Grbac did, and it just missed Davis, who knew exactly who ordered Grbac to throw the ball. I guess you'd call that a strained relationship.