Shell was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989. In 1999, he was ranked number 55 on The Sporting News’ list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

Through Al Davis, Shell is a member of the Sid Gillman coaching tree. As coach of the Raiders (at the time located in Los Angeles), Shell compiled a record of 54 wins, 38 losses, and was named AFC Coach of the Year in 1990, when the Raiders won the AFC West division with a 12–4 record, and advanced to the AFC championship game in the playoffs, becoming the first African-American coach to lead the team to the Conference Championship game. Al Davis, owner of the Raiders, fired Shell after a 9–7 season in 1994, a move Davis later called “a mistake.”

Shell was officially re-hired by the by-then Oakland Raiders as head coach on February 11, 2006. After leading the team to its worst record (2 wins, 14 losses) since 1963, despite having one of the best defenses, Shell was fired for the second time as head coach of the Raiders on January 4, 2007.

Shell attended Bonds-Wilson High School in North Charleston, South Carolina. The school is no longer in existence. Shell is an alumnus of Maryland State College, now known as The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, located in Princess Anne, Maryland. Shell is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. In 2013, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He hosts an annual celebrity golf tournament.

Art Shell is the father of Billie Dureyea Shell who is the Author of the Unfaithful Trilogy, and also great uncle of Brandon Shell, an offensive lineman who was drafted in 2016 by the New York Jets.