Al Abstains From Voting For Commish...

[Angry Pope]

Goodell led voting wire-to-wire

Len Pasquarelli



NORTHBROOK, Ill. -- In a league where it took 23 votes to elect Pete Rozelle in 1960 and a dozen ballots to tab Paul Tagliabue as his successor in 1989, Roger Goodell's ascension to the NFL's top management spot here Tuesday was remarkably brief, with owners requiring just five rounds to select him.


And, according to two NFL owners who supported Goodell's candidacy from the outset, and who publicly endorsed him before the balloting began Tuesday afternoon, his victory was a wire-to-wire rarity.


Goodell led the voting, the owners confirmed, in all five rounds. On the fifth ballot, he finally received the commensurate number of votes needed to claim the commissioner's job, garnering 23 votes to eight for Gregg Levy, the league's outside counsel and the only other finalist remaining in the voting at that point.

With Goodell over the top -- according to league by-laws, a candidate needed the support of two-thirds of the membership, or 22 of 32 votes, to win -- a motion was made to elect him unanimously by acclamation. That motion, not surprisingly, carried unanimously.

Here's how the voting proceeded:

• On the first ballot, Goodell received 15 votes and Levy, who was said to have been very impressive in his presentation, got 13. The three other candidates -- Mayo Shattuck III, Robert L. Reynolds and Frederick Nance -- totaled just three votes among them. Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis, a member of the eight-man search committee that had narrowed the field, abstained. At that point, owners decided to drop the three finalists with the low vote totals. That came despite the fact that, on Monday, the league passed a resolution stipulating that all five finalists would remain in the balloting through at least three rounds. But clearly, on the first ballot, a message had been sent that owners did not intend to elect an "outsider" to run the league.

• Goodell led Levy 17-14 on both the second and third ballots. Once again, Davis abstained both times. Following the third ballot, owners said, there was a lively discussion of the merits of both men still vying for the job. That discussion apparently added some impetus to Goodell's candidacy.

• On the fourth ballot, Goodell received 21 votes, just one shy of the number necessary to push him over the top, and Levy received 10 votes. Davis abstained again.

• Finally, in the fifth round, with Davis again abstaining, Goodell received a 23-8 edge. At that point, the owners opted to elect him unanimously by acclamation. Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney was then dispatched to Goodell's hotel room to deliver the news.

Several owners said that when Goodell entered the meeting room a few minutes later, greeted by a standing ovation as he was elevated from Tagliabue's first lieutenant to his successor, he was extremely emotional.

 

[Angry Pope]

Goodell will let good times roll
Owners anoint Tagliabue's protege as commissioner

Nancy Gay

Wednesday, August 9, 2006


Five ballots in only three hours of voting Tuesday at a Chicago airport hotel ultimately determined the man who will inherit professional sports' most powerful job, that of NFL commissioner.

Relatively quick, clean and painless.

What a surprise, for a collection of 32 franchise owners with vastly different agendas to agree on something -- someone -- so quickly.

But this was the slam-dunk right call, and in the end, even the NFL's most maverick owners, among them the Raiders' Al Davis, voted for Roger Goodell.

By appointing Goodell, the NFL showed it has moved squarely into the 21st century.

Outgoing commissioner Paul Tagliabue has been hailed as a Hall of Fame-caliber leader who ensured there would be labor peace between the NFL and its players, giving fans uninterrupted play over his 17-year reign.

Goodell, 47, who was appointed the NFL's chief operating officer in 2001, has been Tagliabue's front man on matters of new stadium construction, expansion, NFL Europe and the league's various multimedia ventures, including the ever-growing NFL Network.

He has been at the forefront of efforts to bring an NFL team back to Los Angeles, the nation's No. 2 television market.

If Tagliabue has been the litigator, Goodell has been the visionary. And the facilitator.

And pretty darn good at making the NFL a lot of money.

He has come a long way since 1982, when Goodell -- the son of former U.S. Sen. Charles Goodell, a New York Republican -- joined the NFL office as a public-relations intern. He grew up idolizing Pete Rozelle. He sat at Tagliabue's right hand for years, learning the ropes and earning respect.

Now, he succeeds them as commissioner.

"I spent my life following my passion," said Goodell, who is the league's fourth commissioner since 1946. "The game of football is the most important thing. You can never forget that."

So is prosperity, something the owners kept in mind as they voted.

In 1989, bickering owners went through 12 ballots over seven months before finally electing Tagliabue, the bookish attorney, over popular Jim Finks, the colorful Saints general manager.

The buzz word among the 32 owners Tuesday was "continuity," keeping the good times rolling.

The big-dollar teams -- the Cowboys, the Patriots, the Redskins -- want the stream of NFL riches to keep flowing.

Tagliabue, who announced his retirement earlier this year, ends his 17-year reign with the NFL locked into more than $20 billion worth of assorted television contracts.

The lower-revenue teams, such as the Raiders, the 49ers, the Chargers and the Bills, want to be heard, and they demand more consideration for their difficulty financing new stadiums and their assorted smaller-market woes.

Goodell deserves a lot of credit for bridging the gap between what could have been feuding factions.

In recent weeks, owners such as Buffalo's Ralph Wilson intimated that the commissioner voting was being rigged in Goodell's favor. Goodell responded by focusing his efforts on convincing all 32 owners that he would be responsive to everyone's needs.

"The process was good in that it got everyone looking ahead and not just at the circumstances in their own city," Tagliabue said of the final unanimous vote.

If Tagliabue came across at times as dull and scholarly, Goodell always has been energetic, approachable and friendly, the type of person who will tell a joke and remembers your name every time he speaks to you.

John and Denise DeBartolo York always have been Goodell supporters. He counts Raiders chief executive Amy Trask as a close friend.

"I have worked with Roger for many years and know that he has tremendous passion for the game of football and significant experience in matters of importance to the league," Trask said.

John York said, "Roger and I have had a great working relationship over the years. He is a strong communicator who quickly grasps the perspective of the owners and is able to come up with solutions that can be endorsed by the majority."

Goodell won the job over four other candidates, including NFL outside counsel Gregg Levy, who many believe was the runner-up in the earlier ballots. Levy is expected to remain a part of the new regime, along with most, if not all, of Tagliabue's proven lieutenants.

"I believe in continuity," Colts owner Jim Irsay said. "It's a lot like with head coaches, and that's what Roger brings us."

A majority vote of 22 of the 32 owners was required for election.

By voting unanimously Tuesday, the NFL's owners sent a clear mandate: They know they've got a good thing going. Their consensus-maker was the right choice, the only choice, to be the new decisionmaker.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meet the new boss

Name: Roger Goodell

Age: 47

Career: Started as an intern in the league office in 1982 and then served as an intern with the Jets. Helped the league's efforts to host games overseas, and he was a key administrator in the introduction of instant replay. Helped negotiate contract with NFL Referees Association in 2001. Appointed chief operating officer in 2001.

Most recent job: Executive vice president and chief operating officer of the NFL. Was commissioner Paul Tagliabue's top assistant, particularly on expansion and stadium construction.

College: Washington and Jefferson.

Hometown: Jamestown, N.Y.

Family: Has twin daughters with wife Jane. Father Charles took Senate seat of Robert Kennedy after Kennedy's assassination.

 

[Crossbones]

Classic! WTG Al ...

 

[Rob]

From what I've heard Al obstained from all votes. Someone should get the story straight............Nancy.

 

[Angry Pope]

I highlighted Al's thoughts...

Hire an outsider? No need when Goodell knows the drill

Aug. 8, 2006
By Mike Freeman

NORTHBROOK, Ill. -- Roger Goodell was sitting in his hotel room on Tuesday afternoon, waiting for word if he was indeed going to be named the new commissioner of the National Football League, when there was a knock at the door. It was Pittsburgh Steelers owner Dan Rooney.


Dallas owner Jerry Jones: 'We had such a great choice on the inside.' (AP)
"Thankfully I had just put my pants on," said Goodell.

Rooney had good news. Goodell had gotten the job, and with that humble delivery of information a new era in the country's most popular sport had begun.

"This is a great moment in the history of the NFL," said New England owner Robert Kraft. "We feel like we have someone who is a great leader and can continue the prosperity we have enjoyed."

"I spent my life following my passion," said Goodell, who worked his way from an intern in the public relations department to what is the most powerful post in American sports. "The game of football is the most important thing. You can never forget that."

Several owners said Goodell was unanimously approved on the fifth ballot. The NFL did not stipulate when exactly Goodell would take over for Tagliabue, but he is expected to do so sometime before the league's September season opener.

Oakland Raiders owner Al Davis countered criticism that Goodell was a safe pick by saying, "It wasn't about the status quo at all. This is an excellent choice."

It is indeed an excellent selection as Goodell is known to be smart, charismatic and, like Tagliabue, a consensus builder. Yet there is little question that Goodell, the frontrunner for months, got the job because he was the understudy of Tagliabue, who owners feel has led football through some of the most successful and financially prosperous years in the history of the league.

Though there were five ballots, it took the owners just three hours on Tuesday to elect him. That is how comfortable they were with Goodell.

The choice of Goodell can be summed up in one phrase: Don't mess with success.

"I believe in continuity," said Indianapolis owner Jim Irsay, who compared the selection of Goodell to an assistant coach following in the footsteps of a head coach.

Tagliabue was named commissioner in 1989 and under his watch the league's television and stadium revenues have made owners extremely wealthy. Goodell, who also served under legendary commissioner Pete Rozelle, was by Tagliabue's side along the way, and helped Tagliabue navigate the complicated and political minefield of stadium construction.

Goodell is only the fourth commissioner since 1946. He beat out four other candidates, including league counsel Gregg Levy. The others were Frederick Nance, Constellation Energy chairman Mayo Shattuck and Fidelity Investments executive Robert Reynolds. Most of the other candidates were considered outsiders and had little chance of snagging the position.

"There was no reason to look for an outside candidate when we had such a great candidate on the inside," said Dallas owner Jerry Jones.

 

[Rupert]

If there was no other reason, abstaining kept Al Davis and the Raiders in the news of the selection of the new Commish.

Self-promotion at it's finest!

 

[Angry Pope]

Endorsing ex-colleague

Art Shell is no stranger to the new NFL commissioner.

Before he became head coach of the Raiders in February for a second time, Shell worked at league headquarters in New York. It was there, as vice president of football operations, that Shell was able to form some positive impressions of Roger Goodell, the unanimous selection of all 32 owners Tuesday to succeed the retiring Paul Tagliabue.

"It's a great choice. Roger's a heck of a guy," said Shell. "He works very hard. He was always in (Tagliabue's) office. The commissioner gave him things to do, and he went about getting them done. Along with the rest of the people in the league office, I had a great chance to work with him."

Shell said he is confident Goodell will follow in Tagliabue's footsteps and continue to push for increased diversity hiring in the league, both at the head coaching and executive levels.

Shell became the NFL's first modern African American head coach four games into the 1989 season when owner Al Davis promoted him to replace Mike Shanahan. Shell's hiring helped open the door for others. This year, Shell is one of six African American head coaches in the league.

"Diversity has been big on the commissioner's calendar, and I'm sure Roger will follow through on that," said Shell. "Diversity is big in the league office, believe me."