PRO FOOTBALL : New Commissioner Plans Reorganization of NFL Front Office

WASHINGTON —  The NFL changed so much in Pete Rozelle’s 30 years as commissioner that it no longer resembles the league of 1960, said Paul Tagliabue, the new commissioner.

“In 1959, the last year before Rozelle, the 12 NFL teams generated $50 million in revenues,” Tagliabue said from his law office. “This year, with 28 teams, revenues are over $1 billion. That’s a different ballpark.”

Tagliabue predicted that the NFL is about to undergo a major reorganization.

“Despite the (NFL’s) growth, there hasn’t been that much change in the (league) staff in Pete’s time,” Tagliabue said. “As the league grew, he grew with it. But now, I think, some reorganizing is essential.”

Tagliabue says he will recommend installing two or three assistant commissioners, whose specific titles have yet to be determined. They will oversee the department heads.

The restructuring plans follow some nervous moments during a long struggle to find a new commissioner.

When Rozelle resigned in March, everyone in the league office was given a year’s notice. The thought behind that unusual course of action--which was suggested by some of the club owners--was that the new leader should have a free hand in recruiting.

Tagliabue is a long-time Rozelle associate who isn’t planning wholesale changes, but some big ones nonetheless.

“We need at least two senior management people (between the commissioner and the department heads),” Tagliabue said. “The NFL, as a venture, has two sides--football and business. We should probably have a (deputy commissioner) for each--and possibly another for marketing. We’ll get the thinking of the (owners) and have it done by (next summer).”

Willie Davis, a Hall of Fame football player who lives in Marina del Rey and works in Los Angeles, has been singled out by Tagliabue every time the new commissioner has spoken of the league’s future.

Tagliabue said he wants Davis in his administration and mentions his name first when discussing deputy commissioners. Davis, a former Green Bay Packer all-pro, is a successful businessman with a master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

Davis, a defensive end, is also one of the favorites of the owners on the two search panels that endorsed Tagliabue for commissioner. A second committee made Davis one of four finalists for the commissioners’ job along with Jim Finks of New Orleans and Pat Barrett of Syracuse, N.Y.

Some of the other owners have been bothered by Davis’ candor. He has a respect for the truth that surfaces when questioned in public.

From his background as a former player and an enterprising businessman who owns a string of radio stations, Davis has indicated that some form of free agency is workable in pro football.

But he doesn’t insist on that. Over the years, he has proved to be an open-minded team player who would do his best in labor relations and in all other areas within the ground rules laid down by Tagliabue and the owners.

Reorganization won’t happen tomorrow, but Tagliabue is clearly on the right track in mentioning Davis as a potential deputy commissioner.

Finks, who was almost named commissioner, is reportedly under consideration for commissioner of the Canadian Football League, the organization with which he got his front-office start in pro football 30 years ago.

But Finks, the president and general manager of the New Orleans Saints, said from Chicago this week that he wasn’t interested.

“I’m not going back to Canada,” he said.

The Cincinnati Bengals plan on trying a few tricks when they play the Raiders in the Coliseum Sunday.

Coach Sam Wyche told reporters that the Bengals plan to use a quick-snap on offense, and get away with it if they can.

“You’re not violating anything until the official says, ‘You didn’t give (the defense) enough time,” said Wyche, whose no-huddle offense has troubled opponents for two seasons.

The quick snap takes the no-huddle to another dimension.

If the defensive coaches try to send in substitutes while Cincinnati quarterback Boomer Esiason is calling signals at the line of scrimmage, the center snaps the ball, and the defense often is penalized for having 12 men on the field.

Cleveland Coach Bud Carson said, “It’s just another way of taking advantage of the rules, in my opinion, and they do the best job in the world of that.”

In no-huddle situations, a new NFL rule gives the defense “a reasonable amount of time” to match the offense in specialists substituted.

What’s reasonable?

“It’s a judgment call,” Wyche said. “We’re going to leave it up to the officials to make the decision.

“The only way we’ll know (how far the Bengals can go) is to go ahead and snap the ball (and) see at what point they’re going to call it back.”

Accordingly, the officials may be as closely watched Sunday as Bo Jackson.

Dallas Coach Jimmy Johnson, whose team is 0-8 in his first NFL season, says he’s sorry that his backup quarterback, Steve Walsh, didn’t stay at the University of Miami this year.

“(Walsh) would be making a strong run for the (Heisman Trophy),” Johnson said. “(As a pro), he has struggled at times because of all the new players we’ve been using on offense.

“He is pressing a little, (but) he is still talented and has a great future in the NFL.”

Johnson said he sees a brighter future for his other rookie quarterback, Troy Aikman. But Aikman, who will be ready to play at Washington Sunday, has been out for a month with a broken left finger.

“We need to see if (Aikman) is 100% healthy,” Johnson said. “And we want to see if he is 100% into the offense performance-wise.”

Johnson doesn’t blame either quarterback for the 0-8 record.

“We’ve had a lot of different receivers who’ve broken routes and dropped passes,” he said.

Boz update: Brian Bosworth, Seattle’s $11-million flop at linebacker, also will be eligible to play Sunday when the Seahawks are at Kansas City. Bosworth has been out for a month with an injured shoulder.

Seahawk Coach Chuck Knox, who didn’t sound too interested in discussing Bosworth, said he will talk with the former Oklahoma player one of these days.

The Seahawks’ defense has been holding steady without Bosworth. But their offense has been in trouble--for a reason different from why the Rams’ offense has sputtered. The Rams (5-3) haven’t been able to establish the run to set up the pass. The Seahawks (4-4) can’t run because their pass offense has been inconsistent with quarterback Dave Krieg.

To keep the defense from ganging up against one or the other, a team has to be able to both run well and pass well, Knox said.

“(On running downs), teams are playing different types of defenses this year (against Seattle) with eight- and nine-man fronts,” the Seahawk coach said. “You just can’t go and run the ball against fixed bayonets. So you’ve got to put it up.”