Strange and unpredictable things happen this time of year when NFL teams start scrambling to shave their salaries and prepare for free agency and the draft. One of the strangest is going on in Buffalo, where quarterbacks Rob Johnson and Doug Flutie underwent job interviews with new General Manager Tom Donahoe and coach Gregg Williams.
“Probably the first time in their lives they ever had to interview for a job,” Williams said.
Athletes usually let either their performances or their agents speak for them. Donahoe and Williams went a different route.
“It seemed like it was common sense,” Williams said.
Each quarterback was grilled for six hours.
“Every question you can imagine,” Williams said, “from community relations to why they wanted to be the starter. Both have a lot of confidence in their own ability and neither one of them like each other. Both were bluntly honest about that.”
Because Flutie and Johnson can’t get along and because the Bills under former GM John Butler and coach Wade Phillips couldn’t make a decision and overpaid both, Donahoe and Williams must pick one.
Because Flutie will be 39 in October and Johnson will be 28 next month, the decision would appear to be a no-brainer. Not so, say the Bills.
“I don’t know that age has a whole lot to play into it,” Williams said. “Potential doesn’t have a whole lot to play into it either. We want to see how each will fit the makeup of the team.”
Donahoe admitted he has not researched the minuscule number of quarterbacks who ever have performed at a high level after age 38, which seems to be when so many hit a wall, most recently Dan Marino and Steve Young.
Williams called Flutie “a freak of nature. He still looks like he has the body of someone 25 or 26. Flutie said when somebody in the NFL finally tells him he can’t play anymore, he’ll probably go to the XFL.”
Flutie even talked about becoming the next George Blanda, who stuck around primarily as a kicker until he was 48.
Keeping Flutie wouldn’t save the Bills as much under the salary cap as keeping Johnson, but creative restructuring should remove money as the deciding factor.
When Donahoe was commentating for ESPN.com after leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers, he mentioned: “Flutie is 21-9 as a starter. What’s the decision?”
But he was quick to point out, “That was my Internet persona.”
Bills players told Williams they are relieved the new coach is going to make a decision in order to remove the distraction. Teams cannot operate smoothly with more than one quarterback who thinks he’s No. 1. It confuses coaches and teammates, as the Bears often find out from regime to regime.
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“I will not let it divide the team the way it did last year,” Williams said. “These guys can’t coexist with each other. The scales are, Is it more important to have two guys who can win for you that rips the locker room apart, or choose one and roll the dice and develop another younger one? We’re going to roll the dice.”
Said Donahoe: “The future of my kids’ college education is at stake, that’s all. No pressure.”
Out of nowhere: The Indianapolis Colts designated free agent Marcus Pollard as their franchise player, meaning he is guaranteed a salary of $2.1 million, average of the top five tight ends in the league, and the Colts can match any offers he receives.
Pollard hails from that noted football factory, Bradley University, where he played basketball and was recommended to scout Ken Geiger by friend and former Bradley Athletic Director Ron Ferguson.
Geiger, a former Bears scout who was working for Colts boss Bill Tobin at the time, worked out Pollard and convinced the Colts to give him a tryout in 1995.
“They signed him on the spot. Didn’t drop a ball,” Geiger recalled. “Jim Harbaugh threw him passes and he showed quickness and hands.”
Geiger, who coached at Morton East for 30 years, is living in Berwyn awaiting induction into the Catholic League Hall of Fame.
How many talented players like Pollard are out there to be discovered? “Thousands,” Geiger said.
Bear minimum: Here are two free agents who could interest the Bears–quarterback Glenn Foley, who sat out last year after backing up in Seattle, and restricted Green Bay receiver Corey Bradford.
Naming rights: The only corporate sponsor that would make sense for the new Soldier Field is Marshall Field. Then it could be called Marshall Soldier Field.
What an idea: New Detroit Lions coach Marty Mornhinweg doesn’t know whether ex-Bear Mike Tomczak can still be a backup quarterback, but he wishes Jim McMahon were a little younger. Mornhinweg coached in Green Bay during McMahon’s last years.
“He never had the benefit of the West Coast offense, but he was a natural. Had it down pat in a week. I loved him,” Mornhinweg said.
If McMahon ever wanted to coach, Mornhinweg would have no problem adjusting to a “punky assistant.” Mornhinweg hired ex-49ers, ex-Cowboys “personality” Charles Haley as his pass-rush specialist. Haley is the last player in the world who looked or acted like a future coach. His locker-room antics and mood swings are legendary. But Haley served as a volunteer coach with the 49ers last camp.
“He’s a tremendous teacher on the field,” Mornhinweg said. “Gets to meetings five minutes early. The players have a special relationship. He wants to be a fine coach and he’ll be of great value to the team.”
A chalk session between button-down Lions defensive coordinator Vince Tobin and Haley still would be worth televising.