PRO FOOTBALL / DAILY REPORT : NFC : Ryan: Reward, Don’t Punish, Hard Work

Arizona Coach Buddy Ryan says any attempt by the NFL to regulate off-season training is an accommodation to those more concerned with tee times than football.

“It penalizes the coaches who want to work and justifies those other guys playing golf all off-season,” Ryan said Thursday. “I guess I’ll take up playing golf, like most of the other coaches in the league.”

NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has said he’s considering new ground rules on off-season work so all teams have the same set of guidelines.

The Cardinals held a 14-week defensive school in the spring of 1994, and Ryan called the offense into an 11 1/2-week school on Feb. 14 this year.

Both years, the full team has had to report for three-week, no-pads camps before training camp. Although the summer camps are “voluntary,” skipping one is a sure way to end a career on a Ryan-coached team.