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http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm
ESPN BOYS SPLIT BETWEEN MUELLER, MODRAK
There's an interesting dynamic playing out in Bristol,
Connecticut and Miami, Florida regarding the newly-created G.M.
position with the Dolphins.
Guys like Chris Mortensen and John "the Great Gazoo" Clayton are
backing ESPN.com colleague Randy Mueller. Len Pastabelli, whom
we incorrectly identified on Monday as a Mueller supporter, is
backing Bills assistant G.M. Tom Modrak for the gig.
The end result, however, is that ESPN.com is ignoring other
viable candidates for the job.
The problem, as one league insider told us on Monday, is that
most NFL owners don't know much about football matters, so they
tend to put a lot of stock in the words of guys like Mortensen
and Pasquarelli. Though we found this revelation hard to
believe, the source explained to us that, while many owners have
enjoyed success in other areas of business, few are clueless
when it comes to determining the best candidates for football
jobs. Thus, they tend to be influenced by the opinions of folks in
the media, who essentially are performing the initial screening
for the owners by culling the list of candidates down to a
handful of names.
With all that said, we too are hearing that Modrak and Mueller
indeed have emerged as the front-runners for the job. We
wonder, however, whether this news is an example of the self-
fulfilling nature of the early reports of Mort and P. Belly.
We're also hearing that some league insiders doubt that Modrak
ever will be a serious candidate for a G.M. job. Age and health
issues aside, several league insiders believe that Modrak's star
plummeted in 2001, when (as the story goes) he tried to short-
circuit a protracted beauty contest in Chicago via a power play
for the G.M. gig. Neither the Bears nor the league took kindly
to the move, and (as the story goes) Modrak formally withdrew
his name from consideration in order to avoid the embarrassment
of not getting hired for the job.
Several league insiders think that Modrak's name has remained in
consideration for G.M. jobs thanks to the efforts of guys like
Pastabelli and Bills G.M. Tom Donahoe. One league insider
opined that there are 30-35 guys more deserving of a G.M. job,
and that only a franchise that won't do its homework (i.e., the
Cardinals) would pull the trigger at this point.
Another possibility for Modrak, if Randy Mueller gets the Miami
gig, could come with the Saints. Randy's brother, Rick, likely
would leave New Orleans to join the Dolphins, creating a vacancy
at the top of the personnel department. Since Saints G.M.
Mickey Loomis admittedly is not a football guy, he'll need
someone like Modrak to pick up this end of the job.
Don't get us wrong here. We're not knocking Modrak. We're
merely sharing the insights of some of the folks around the
league who disagree with the generally favorable comments that
previously have appeared in this here space regarding Modrak.
-----------------------------------
SPIELMAN HEADING TO MOTOWN?
Though Lions CEO Matt Millen has secured an unwarranted
reprieve, word is that Millen soon could be adding Dolphins
senior V.P. of football operations Rick Spielman as the team's
director of player personnel.
Spielman is one of the G.M. candidates in Miami whom the ESPN
guys don't mention. Still, it seems unlikely at this point that
Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga will move Spielman ahead of his
former boss, coach Dave Wannstedt.
Even if Spielman doesn't land in Miami, word around the league
is that both he and pro personnel director George Paton will find
new jobs quickly, if there isn't a seat for them in the soon-to-
be-renovated front office.
ESPN BOYS SPLIT BETWEEN MUELLER, MODRAK
There's an interesting dynamic playing out in Bristol,
Connecticut and Miami, Florida regarding the newly-created G.M.
position with the Dolphins.
Guys like Chris Mortensen and John "the Great Gazoo" Clayton are
backing ESPN.com colleague Randy Mueller. Len Pastabelli, whom
we incorrectly identified on Monday as a Mueller supporter, is
backing Bills assistant G.M. Tom Modrak for the gig.
The end result, however, is that ESPN.com is ignoring other
viable candidates for the job.
The problem, as one league insider told us on Monday, is that
most NFL owners don't know much about football matters, so they
tend to put a lot of stock in the words of guys like Mortensen
and Pasquarelli. Though we found this revelation hard to
believe, the source explained to us that, while many owners have
enjoyed success in other areas of business, few are clueless
when it comes to determining the best candidates for football
jobs. Thus, they tend to be influenced by the opinions of folks in
the media, who essentially are performing the initial screening
for the owners by culling the list of candidates down to a
handful of names.
With all that said, we too are hearing that Modrak and Mueller
indeed have emerged as the front-runners for the job. We
wonder, however, whether this news is an example of the self-
fulfilling nature of the early reports of Mort and P. Belly.
We're also hearing that some league insiders doubt that Modrak
ever will be a serious candidate for a G.M. job. Age and health
issues aside, several league insiders believe that Modrak's star
plummeted in 2001, when (as the story goes) he tried to short-
circuit a protracted beauty contest in Chicago via a power play
for the G.M. gig. Neither the Bears nor the league took kindly
to the move, and (as the story goes) Modrak formally withdrew
his name from consideration in order to avoid the embarrassment
of not getting hired for the job.
Several league insiders think that Modrak's name has remained in
consideration for G.M. jobs thanks to the efforts of guys like
Pastabelli and Bills G.M. Tom Donahoe. One league insider
opined that there are 30-35 guys more deserving of a G.M. job,
and that only a franchise that won't do its homework (i.e., the
Cardinals) would pull the trigger at this point.
Another possibility for Modrak, if Randy Mueller gets the Miami
gig, could come with the Saints. Randy's brother, Rick, likely
would leave New Orleans to join the Dolphins, creating a vacancy
at the top of the personnel department. Since Saints G.M.
Mickey Loomis admittedly is not a football guy, he'll need
someone like Modrak to pick up this end of the job.
Don't get us wrong here. We're not knocking Modrak. We're
merely sharing the insights of some of the folks around the
league who disagree with the generally favorable comments that
previously have appeared in this here space regarding Modrak.
-----------------------------------
SPIELMAN HEADING TO MOTOWN?
Though Lions CEO Matt Millen has secured an unwarranted
reprieve, word is that Millen soon could be adding Dolphins
senior V.P. of football operations Rick Spielman as the team's
director of player personnel.
Spielman is one of the G.M. candidates in Miami whom the ESPN
guys don't mention. Still, it seems unlikely at this point that
Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga will move Spielman ahead of his
former boss, coach Dave Wannstedt.
Even if Spielman doesn't land in Miami, word around the league
is that both he and pro personnel director George Paton will find
new jobs quickly, if there isn't a seat for them in the soon-to-
be-renovated front office.
