So Fred Biletnikoff has ridden off into the sunset, with all the proper bouquets thrown his way from the organization that made him synonomous with stickem-fingered wide receivers.

Fred loves the Raiders. The Raiders love Fred.

Things are never that simple with the Raiders, however, and a few points should be made regarding the departure of one of the true legends of the franchise:

– Biletnikoff was not happy about the way Art Shell was shown the door by Al Davis. Reasonable people can agree Shell’s return was a disaster, but the word is Davis was positively brutal to Shell upon his exit.

There was a glimpse of that at the press conference announcing the hiring of Lane Kiffin when Davis essentially blamed Shell for his own decision not to draft Matt Leinart and instead take safety Michael Huff.

Davis seemed to wash his hands of Shell about the same time Tom Walsh was dumped as offensive coordinator. And when Davis goes silent, it means you’re out the door. He did it to Norv Turner as well, but I’m guessing an old Raider such as Biletnikoff thought Shell deserved better.

– How many 60-something coaches who have a Hall of Fame on their resume could stomach having to deal with Randy Moss and Jerry Porter on a daily basis? Anyone who holds Biletnikoff even partially responsible for two veteran playmakers essentially taking themselves out of the mix has no sense of honor or right and wrong.

It appears Porter will stay. Moss? He’s trying much harder to get out than he ever did on the field last year, and if Davis doesn’t get top dollar, he could return.

That alone could send Biletnikoff running for cover.

It wasn’t that long ago that Biletnikoff got to work with Tim Brown and Jerry Rice at the same time. There was no doubting the egos of Brown and Rice, but also no doubting their dedication to the craft of receiving.

I envision Biletnikoff watching the last few weeks of the playoffs, seeing all the dropped routine passes, and swilling Maalox like he did as a player. Wide receivers aren’t what they used to be.

– There’s a perception that Biletnikoff has survived this long because he was labeled as untouchable by Davis as an ex-Raider. In some cases, that may even be true.

But I also remember a conversation with Jon Gruden regarding Davis’ policy of approving and sometimes outright hiring assistant coaches, and how he never had a problem with Biletnikoff and Willie Brown.

“Fred and Willie, I love those guys,” Gruden said.

When the Raiders hammered the Bucs in Week 3 of the 2004 season, Biletnikoff and Brown were the first two Raiders coaches to greet Gruden warmly at the middle of the field.

– Biletnikoff has picked up a perspective on life since the death of his daugher Tracey in 1999. He has outside interests related to raising money for domestic violence and has dealt with a serious tragedy that must seem to make dealing with spoiled athletes that much more difficult.

Biletnikoff, according to the statement sent out by the Raiders, will remain a member of the Raider faimily.

A quote attributed to Lane Kiffin (not quite 2 years old when Biletnikoff was MVP of Super Bowl XI) states, “I look forward to his valuable insight as we move forward to an exciting future with our football team.”

Pardon me for being skeptical, but I don’t see Kiffin consulting Biletnikoff about the best way to get Moss to hold his arms outstretched rather than pull them in a split-second before contact.

Maybe he’ll be a part of the Raider family, or maybe he’ll be like Shell _ on the outside, looking in.

In any event, like Shell, Biletnikoff exits with his dignity intact, even if the organization which defined so much of his life is struggling to find some dignity of its own.

At some point after the last file which mentioned Ted Daisher still listed as the Raiders special teams coach on Raiders.com, his name was removed from the “coaching staff” link.

Also missing from earlier Tuesday were tight ends coach Tom Walsh, co-offensive line coach Jackie Slater and defensive backs/special teams coach Lorenzo Ward.

Walsh became a popular punching bag for both fans and media when put in charge of the Raiders offense after serving the last several years running a bed and breakfast inn and serving as the mayor of Swan Valley, Idaho.

Slater, a Hall of Fame left tackle, had never coached before. The Raiders offensive line surrended an NFL-high 72 sacks, _ a franchise record _ and finished 29th in rushing.

Offensive quality control coach Robert Ford is also no longer listed on the coaching roster.

Offensive coaches who remain listed on Raiders.com include wide receivers coach Fred Biletnikoff, co-offensive line coach Irv Eatman, running backs coach Skip Peete and quarterbacks coach Jim McElwain.

It is not known whether Walsh, Slater and Ward were fired or re-assigned within the organization.

Ward, a college coach at Virginia Tech before comign to the Raiders, could have found another position. Walsh, the Raiders offensive coordinator for the first 11 games before swapping positions with tight ends coach John Shoop, reportedly had another year on his contract at $500,000.

It’s possible he was offered a buyout at considerably less than that amount.

Walsh last coached in the NFL in 1994, when he was fired along with Art Shell by Davis when Mike White took over.

Shell promised Walsh he would bring him back should he ever get another job, and Davis approved the hire and even told the media at a pre-Hall of Fame press conference of Walsh’s coaching acumen.

The only new name on the coaching roster, other than head coach Lane Kiffin, is offensive coordiantor Greg Knapp.

There is still no word on whether Tom Cable has accepted the Raiders offer to become their offensive line coach.