Tagliabue, Rice and L.A. Football

21 March 2006 |permalink | email article

The retirement of Paul Tagliabue as National Football League commissioner after a 16-year tenure that created the nationís richest and most powerful sports empire is a momentous event. Who will succeed the czar who brought long-term labor peace to the league, and how will his departure affect the return of pro football to the Los Angeles Coliseum?

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the noted football groupie, has long made no secret of her interest in the job and Tagliabue has spread some catnip by saying the process is wide open. But any decision by her to leave the White House at a time when the Bush presidency is in a free fall appears very remote.

Just as Tagliabue, a league lawyer who was the NFLís representative and unofficial lobbyist in Washington before he succeeded Pete Rozelle when he stepped down in 1989, the odds heavily favor the new commissioner coming from inside. Roger Goodell, the NFLís chief operating officer, and Atlanta general manager Rich McKay are the leading contenders.

The more intriguing question is Tagliabueís known interest in trying to get a team back to Los Angeles. He was quoted Monday as saying his biggest regret as commissioner was allowing both the Rams and Raiders to leave after the 1994 season ñ the Rams to St. Louis and the Raiders to Oakland.

Rumors are hot on both coasts that the commissioner, who made a tour of possible stadium sites in the greater Los Angeles area last fall, may return again for a fresh visit in late April or early May before a league meeting later that month ñ the last before October.

This visit, with the NFL-labor collective bargaining issue now settled, could be crucial in jelling an agreement to fulfill Tagliabueís wish. That said, the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission must get its ducks in order. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa need to step up and make a deal happen.

As for Condi Rice, I see her as owner of the new NFL Los Angeles Bulldogs when the 1940sí era Pacific Coast League franchise is reborn on the Coliseum gridiron in 2010.

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