Chris Mortensen - Subplots abound these days in San Diego


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Subplots abound these days in San Diego

There is intrigue in the nation's capital. Who's going to be the president? Who's going to be the coach? There are other hot spots out there, like Arizona, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Dallas.

Then there is San Diego. You want real intrigue? How about John Butler as GM? Bill Cowher as coach? Michael Vick as quarterback? The Chargers in Los Angeles?

Got your attention? If you want to follow a tangled web that could impact players like Vick and Ryan Leaf, coaches like Cowher, Mike Riley, Norv Turner, Marty Schottenheimer, teams like the Chargers, Buffalo Bills and the USC Trojans, places like San Diego and Los Angeles, then this is your exercise.

Let's examine these issues, one by one.

1. Who will be coach of the 2001 Chargers?

Mike Riley
Mike Riley's Chargers haven't had many happy homecomings.
Right now, it appears that Riley will return for his third season. He came away "encouraged" from a recent meeting with team president Dean Spanos. Spanos also will not grant permission to any team or institution, such as USC, to speak with Riley.

Yet, Spanos this week also declined to give Riley a vote of confidence, and Riley himself said he does not know if he will be allowed to return in 2001.

On one hand, it seems incomprehensible that if Spanos intends to fire Riley after the season that he would block the coach from an opportunity to seek the USC job. Then again, a source close to the Chargers says that Spanos does not consider himself to be in the business of looking out for Riley's best interests, regardless of the popular notion that Riley might be the best human being walking the earth today.

Spanos is understandably upset by his team's 1-12 season. If he allowed Riley to depart early, he could be sealing the Chargers' fate as a 1-15 team. However, Spanos is no fool. He knows the team's dearth of talent and an unkind schedule could very well make this a 1-15 season, regardless of Riley's presence.

Spanos apparently is not enamored with the idea of paying three coaches at once. The Chargers are still paying former coach Kevin Gilbride $800,000 for two more years. Riley makes anywhere from $500,000 to $750,000, with three years remaining on his deal. A new coach surely would demand $1 to $2 million.

But that, to me, is a moot point. If Riley voluntarily goes to USC, he'll make more than the Chargers would pay him. The team would be off the books on his remaining salary, although there is speculation that the Spanos family is trying to orchestrate a buyout from USC for Riley. In other words, they make money on the deal. That would be weak and somewhat unscrupulous in light of Riley's integrity.

Enter Norv Turner, the recently martyred coach of the Washington Redskins. He's going to be a candidate for any job that vacates during the next two years. It's possible he will have to follow the lead of his friend, Dave Wannstedt, of waiting a year for the right job.

However, there is no question that Turner would be attracted to the Chargers' job because of his ties to Southern California.

Word is, Spanos and associates are not that hot to trot on Turner. They have an attraction to a "disciplinarian" -- somebody who puts on a steely face when marching the sidelines. Spanos truly regrets allowing former GM Bobby Beathard to run Bobby Ross out of town.

Turner believes he is a disciplinarian, but sources say the name Spanos most associates with this image is Bill Cowher. (We won't debate the pros and cons of Cowher at this time). This is where Schottenheimer comes in; Cowher is from the Schottenheimer tree. Schottenheimer is available; Cowher is not.

Here again is the issue of money and compensation. The Chiefs still own the rights to Schottenheimer, and compensation likely will be a big issue because the Chargers are in the same division -- that is, unless Chiefs president Carl Peterson wants to assist his pal, Spanos, with whom he dined a couple of weeks ago when the teams met in San Diego.

Turner also could end up as USC's top candidate if Riley isn't cut loose. Or, how about this one: Riley should hire Turner as his offensive coordinator. It's an interesting thought. In one way, he might be hiring his replacement. Then again, Turner just might save his job.

Oh, you do realize that Cowher's contract expires after the 2002 season, right?

2. Is Buffalo Bills GM John Butler coming on board to right the Chargers' ship?
One precept that appears unchallenged is that Spanos will look for a new man to run his personnel department, to fix the mess that Beathard left behind. If there is a reason the Chargers are in a shaky state, it is because they have few players.

Two men immediately come to mind: former Steelers director of football operations Tom Donahoe and Bills GM John Butler. The Steelers' ability to remain competitive through years of incredible salary-cap losses is a direct tribute to Donahoe's acumen. Meanwhile, everybody has been projecting a collapse by the Bills following their four straight Super Bowl seasons in the early 90s, and it never happened because Butler and his savvy staff keep finding players.

Butler is the name you hear most linked to the San Diego job. His contract expires after this season and he has put negotiations on hold with owner Ralph Wilson Jr. He began his scouting career with the Chargers (1985-87) before joining Bill Polian in Buffalo. He also spent some time at Camp Pendleton as a Marine and later attended junior college in Los Angeles. So a move from Buffalo to southern California would not be a shock to his system.

League sources say Butler is very interested in the San Diego job if Spanos can show him he is committed to building a Super Bowl-caliber team.

Of course, if Butler comes on board, Riley's fate might be left to him. I think Butler would keep Riley for at least a year to assess the situation.

3. Is Ryan Leaf still in the Chargers' future, or is it Michael Vick?

Virginia Tech QB Michael Vick says he's staying in school, but lots of NFL teams would love to have him.
Spanos is said to be leaning toward keeping Ryan Leaf in the fold through the 2001 season for a couple of reasons. One, Leaf does show occasional flashes of great physical ability when he's on the field. Two, the team has a lot of money invested in him and won't have to exercise an option on him until 2002.

Yet, whether there's a new coach or new general manager, the Chargers have a real problem with Leaf. The guys in the locker room want him out. The players' reaction to Leaf is not just chilly, it is abhorrent. They don't trust him, and they can't ever see trusting him.

They also blame him and his big salary as reasons that some players -- such as former defensive tackle Norman Hand (Saints) -- were not re-signed by the Chargers. If they had only seen a real commitment by Leaf, it would not be an issue. They don't see it.

So, here are the Chargers currently holding the No. 1 pick in next April's draft. Spanos again is said to be leaning toward trading the choice to pick up extra picks for obvious reasons. Giving an $11 million signing bonus to an unproven player like Leaf has burned the Chargers. They also need more than one good player.

Some problems arise here. There may not be one player in the 2001 draft who attracts suitors willing to give up extra picks. Purdue QB Drew Brees has a first-round rating, but he is not projected as a No. 1 overall pick. Ole Miss running back Deuce McAllister might be the top player, but he likely would not extract great value in a trade.

Vick can change that. The Virginia Tech quarterback has said he will remain in school, but he can always change his mind and is still contemplating that decision, according to sources.

In fact, the football man I trust to analyze quarterbacks -- this man must remain anonymous -- has done a turnabout on whether Vick should remain in school.

Here's what he said: "Vick's got to come out. As good as Virginia Tech has been to him, they only care about whether he can help them win a national championship. Now that's not a bad thing for the school, but it's not in his best interests. They're not going to make it their goal to prepare him as a pro quarterback. I've seen how nicked up he's gotten this year. The way they use him, he's one hit away from a catastrophic injury. Then what? He should come out, grab the money, take care of his family.

"He's going to be a star, but the only thing is that the NFL team that gets him needs to have discipline. They need to do what Minnesota has done with Daunte Culpepper or what Tennessee has done with Steve McNair. They need to make him sit a year, learn the pro game, develop and get some snaps -- but not too many."

Imagine what happens to the 2001 draft if Vick comes out? The Chargers then would have monstrous decisions. Do they take Vick, give him the big bucks and cut Leaf? (That's what I would do). Or do they package the pick and get a draft bonanza?

4. Are the Chargers the next best hope for Los Angeles?
Yeah, that's right. You keep hearing about the Minnesota Vikings, or even the Raiders, ending up in Los Angeles, but some league sources believe the Chargers might just be the team.

After all, the franchise won its first AFC West title in 1960 at its inception as the Los Angeles Chargers.

Currently, the state of affairs between the city of San Diego and the Chargers is a mess. There is a lot of bitterness over the current lease between the team and city. The lease runs through 2020, but the Chargers have a re-opener clause after the 2003 season based on a certain financial formula.

If the Chargers opt out of the lease, L.A. will be a major player (although you hear whispers about Sacramento). If Alex Spanos is rejected by San Diego politicians and sees a fair financial fortune in a transfer up the freeway that would be secretly embraced by the NFL, this is a move that has more rationale than anybody is currently speculating about.

Go ahead, watch the soap opera directed and produced by Daniel Snyder in Washington. Just realize there might be a better show in San Diego for the next few months, or even years.

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