At 1:30 PM PST today, the National Football League held a press conference call to officially announce the retirement of NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue. With NFL VP of Public Relations Greg Aiello at his side, Commissioner Tagliabue adroitly fielded questions from the phone-based press corp, including this author.
The vast majority of the queries were on the matter of current NFL business matters regarding the location of a team in Los Angeles "We're prepared to move forward," he said. Tagliabue will also stick around to push that initiative and to stewart the revival of the NFL's Saints' presence in New Orleans. The Commissioner explained that he would be flying to New Orleans in a few weeks on that matter.
Raiders or Rams Leaving LA Only Regret
Commissioner Tagliabue claims his greatest successes as the construction of new stadiums, the expansion of the league, and of course, the recent completion of the NFL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). When I asked him what he would like a "do over" on, he said his greatest "do over" opportunity would certainly be the LA matter. "I don't know, I think I've said before that if we had the benefit of hindsight, we would have made certain that either the Rams or the Raiders stayed in L.A. in the mid-90s. I thought that we were taking all of the steps that we needed to take when we passed that resolution in providing for the stadium in Hollywood Park, and it turned out not to be operative. I guess if you could go back and relive a month, that might be the month where you might do something differently."
I asked if the rumors regarding Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's interests in the Commissioner's position were true. "Well," he said, "I think she's the one who said publicly she would be interested in the job. I don't know whether that's facetious on her part or not. She was at the Super Bowl this year with us, and she made it very clear she wants the job she has. I think if you really want to have a definitive answer to the question, go to her next press conference.
A Steady Hand
On a personal level, when I think of Paul Tagliabue, the words "stability," "focus," and "friendliness" come up. They stem from my first NFL Owners Meeting held in Chicago at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare on November 1-3 of 1999. They call it the "Fall Owners Meeting." At any rate, as the head of the effort to bring the Super Bowl to Oakland, I was invited to The Wilson Cocktail Party held that Monday evening and presented by the maker of the footballs used by the league.
I was completely and totally nervous, but decided that I was going to be with other human beings and didn't have to worry about being eaten. I was one of the first to arrive; the other being Dennis Lewin, who was then head of television affairs for the league, and Houston Texans Owner Bob McNair. As we carried on a lively and friendly conversation, the owners trickled in, and finally Commissioner Tagliabue.
The Commissioner has a presense. A fact built in part by his height at 6'7, his celebrity, and mostly his posture. He carries an upright walk, but with a personality devoid of a patrician affect that makes some unapproachable. At the time he walked in, I'd migrated over to a group of owners including Jack Faukner of the LA Rams and Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos. Commissioner Tagliabue came over and the first subject on his mind was to give a kind of impromptu attendance report to the group. What struck me was his constant attention to league matters, but in a relaxed way.
When I finally got the chance to meet him, his greeting was warm and sincere. But I most remembered that he looked me in the eye, so I didn't have the impression that he was going through the motions of a party. He was paying attention to every NFL detail, including this new guy who was trying to bring the NFL's marque even to a city containing the league's least popular owner.
My last lengthy meeting with him was on May 10th of 2005 and in a two hour meeting between Super Bowl: Oakland officials, and the Commissioners' senior staff. Again, Paul had the same commanding yet comfortable persona, but let his staff members -- in this case then-NFL Senior Vice President for Special Events Jim Steeg -- do most of the talking. Paul didn't say anything until about 37 minutes into the meeting, the start of which was delayed because Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown came in 10 minutes late. He asked me if I had a financing plan for the new, temporary stadium seats, and I did explain a naming rights concept I developed. He nodded in approval.
After the meeting, he came over, shook my hand,...and looked me right in the eye.
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