Ted Phillips is expected to continue as president and chief executive officer of the Bears, contrary to widespread speculation that board Chairman Michael McCaskey might plot a comeback to run the day-to-day operations of the club.
“Ted has done a very good job and has a good future with the Bears,” McCaskey said during owners meetings last week.
Phillips’ contract expires after the 2004 season, as do the contracts of general manager Jerry Angelo and coach Dick Jauron. The McCaskey family and Phillips know Phillips’ contract must be extended first for other plans to fall into place.
Virginia and Ed McCaskey promoted Phillips to his present position in 1999, shortly after Mike McCaskey hired Jauron. McCaskey then replaced his father Ed as board chairman. Phillips hired Angelo in 2001. Ed McCaskey died in April, and wife Virginia has remained supportive of Phillips.
Mike McCaskey and Phillips showed off the new Soldier Field for fellow NFL owners during league meetings last week. NFL owners (as well as players) became partners in the project by forfeiting a portion of visiting-team revenue to fund the $150 million loan that helped build it.
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McCaskey paid tribute to Phillips for his role.
“It was very important in the process of working out the political support for it,” McCaskey said. “I’m not sure it would have gotten done,” McCaskey said.
Good idea: Oakland Raiders executive Bruce Allen already has seen too much of the new Soldier Field as the Bears’ first victim there Oct. 5. But upon seeing the murals of Bears greats decorating the place, Allen came up with this idea:
“The league should retire the number 7 leaguewide for [Bears owner-coach] George Halas the way baseball did for Jackie Robinson’s number 42. People who come here need to know what he did for the league.”
Allen is in football because Halas hired his dad, the late George Allen. A whole lot of people are in football because of Halas.
Season opener: The subject wasn’t on the agenda, but McCaskey got the sense that the league’s new tradition of a gala Thursday night season-opening concert and game could be in Chicago next year.
“It might happen,” he said. “It would be a great thing for the city of Chicago and for the Bears.”
The first event was in Times Square, followed by a game between the Giants and the 49ers. This year it was on the Mall in Washington, followed by a game between the Redskins and the Jets.
Replay it again: The instant-replay watch began its countdown until March meetings, when owners must vote for it again after the latest three-year experiment. A three-fourths majority is required for passage, meaning just nine teams that oppose it could stop it.
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue will push to get it passed, especially after the amount of money and time invested in the system.
“My guess is that replay will continue because three-fourths or more of the clubs will think it plays an important role in terms of officiating the game,” Tagliabue said.
As for Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick’s tirade against it last week, Tagliabue minced no words: “I think what Brian Billick said about replay was intolerable, unacceptable, uncalled for, and he should be fined.” (He was fined $15,000 Friday.)
The Bears voted for the latest experiment but have voted against it at other times. Mike McCaskey said his only reservation is “just the length of time it takes to get the video replay. They said it was going to be instant replay and it has taken many more minutes than that.”
Cardinals win again: The Chicago Cardinals won’t have their 1925 league championship rescinded after all. The citizens of Pottsville, Pa., outraged all these years, will have to settle for the league’s “Pioneer Award” after owners tried to make everybody happy with a resolution recognizing the 1925 Pottsville Maroons as “a championship-caliber NFL team.”
Pottsville finished 10-2, but NFL President Joe Carr disqualified the Maroons from league title consideration after the team played an unauthorized exhibition game Dec. 12 against a non-NFL team in Philadelphia, illegally encroaching on the territory of the Frankford Yellowjackets.
The Cardinals finished 11-2-1 and were awarded the title despite a 21-7 loss to the Maroons on Dec. 6. There were no playoffs then.
Pottsville never has given up its fight for the title. NFL owners voted in 1963 and again in 1967 against changing the outcome. Neither vote deterred town business and civic leaders, even though their argument has persuaded only the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles.
Again confirming that Pennsylvanians stick together, Eagles owner Jeff Lurie and Steelers owner Dan Rooney expressed disappointment that their colleagues voted 30-2 against reopening the 1925 files.
Removing a title from the Cardinals would have been devastating because the league’s oldest (1899) continuously operating franchise has won only one other championship (1946). But it would have been interesting to see if Chicago’s indignation could match that of Pottsville.
It also will be interesting to see how many Pottsville citizens show up next August 7-9 during Hall of Fame festivities to accept the Pioneer Award.
Rookie matchup: The Bears and rookie quarterback Rex Grossman should have an eye on Sunday’s game between the Ravens and Jaguars featuring starting rookie quarterbacks Kyle Boller and Byron Leftwich.
“The comparison is going to be drawn for a number of years, and it’s going to be fun to watch these two young guys develop into elite quarterbacks,” Billick said.
Grossman and Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer, the only other first-round quarterbacks, have yet to play.
The Ravens admit they would have drafted Leftwich instead of Boller if they had been able to complete a trade with Minnesota.
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“We legitimately couldn’t get the phone call through,” Billick said. “We’re thrilled to have who we have. I know they’re thrilled to have Byron Leftwich. . . . “
Marino blessing: Former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino agreed with coach Dave Wannstedt’s decision to name Brian Griese his starting quarterback ahead of the ailing Jay Fiedler for Sunday’s game against Indianapolis.
“They know what they have with Jay,” Marino said on his HBO show. “Griese gives them a little bit of a spark in the passing game, which they have lacked. Jay Fiedler is a little bit more mobile. He gets out of the pocket and makes some plays here and there, but they don’t make those key throws to end the games when you need to win. Griese can make that and give them a little bit more of a spark.”
For a change: Wannstedt enjoyed his Monday night victory over San Diego on Arizona’s neutral field for more than one reason: “It was a great crowd there, but it was all college kids. It was different. It was like Miami-Florida State. They were screaming and yelling. I don’t think anybody yelled one bad thing at me. It wasn’t a first, but it was kind of nice.”
Kicking themselves: Placekicker is a four-letter word for the 49ers. Todd Peterson just became the team’s ninth kicker in nine years.
He is also the 10th in a row with a four-letter first name, following Owen Pochman, Jeff Chandler, Jose Cortez, Wade Richey, Gary Anderson, Jeff Wilkins, Tony Zendejas, Doug Brien and Mike Cofer.