Friday, November 20, 1998

Yes, character is important

By Randy Galloway

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT)

FORT WORTH - More and more, you hear it. More and more, you question how much of it is lip service. But there is a movement under way in the jock kingdom - character does count, and characters don't.

"We get it," Jerry Jones has said about 10 dozen times since January. What Jones "got" was a pointed message from his team's fans. Clean up the Cowboys, or else.

Jerry has made more than an effort. It's now his crusade. The crusade continues. It hasn't been perfect, but it's been effective.

This week, Atlanta coach Dan Reeves never mentioned offensive expertise when he explained why Chan Gailey was a perfect fit as the new coach of the Cowboys. "Chan has morals," said Reeves.

From June Jones, interim coach at San Diego, on last week's benching of rookie quarterback Ryan Leaf: "You've got to constantly work with him about being professional and having class."

The Chargers mortgaged their franchise future with draft-pick giveaways to draft Leaf. Isn't it a bit late to be concerned about class and character? Where was the homework before the draft?

When a "franchise receiver" named Randy Moss was sliding rapidly through the first round of last April's NFL draft, Minnesota landed this bargain with the 20th pick.

Moss has thus far been trouble-free and a rookie sensation. Did the Vikings know something? Did they outfox those other 19 teams, including the Cowboys, that passed up Moss because of his reputation?

"No," said a Cowboys scout. "The Vikings could take the gamble because they didn't have an owner at the time." Excellent point.

Butch Davis left the Cowboys' coaching staff to take over at the University of Miami, then considered the "death row" of college football.

Davis' No. 1 rule on recruiting to his staff of assistants is this:

"You won't be fired for a mistake on talent. You can be fired for a mistake on character."

Some Miami fans think Davis should be fired, period. Who cares about image and character? They want national championships.

In baseball, the Rangers cleaned out their clubhouse several years ago, which management says resulted in two divisional titles in three years. It didn't help against the Yankees in the playoffs, but both times those were "good character" New York teams that went on to win the World Series.

All of the above is a small sampling of a much larger picture. The movement is real, and it's widespread.

But, from the other side comes the strangest story of the NFL season. This involves the collapse of the Kansas City Chiefs and the possible firing of 10-year head coach Marty Schottenheimer.

As former Chiefs player Mark Collins said, "Marty decided he wanted a bunch of thugs, and that's what he's got."

Collins uttered that quote before Monday's night game in Kansas City against the Denver Broncos. Almost on cue, the Chiefs' performance made Collins the Psychic Hotline NFL player of the year. And it had nothing to do with the Chiefs being drilled on the field by Denver.

Schottenheimer said he was "embarrassed, humiliated and angry" after his team committed five personal-foul penalties on the Broncos' final drive of the game. The coach clearly lost control of his team.

By Tuesday morning, Schottenheimer was the talk of the NFL, but what was being said had nothing to do with the respect usually afforded Schottenheimer.

This is a veteran coach who screwed up severely by bringing in characters for this season, while character went out the door.

Denver's Neil Smith was a longtime star in Kansas City. After the Monday night game, he said, "In all my years with the Chiefs, Marty used to always say that's why the Raiders would never win again and that we could never be like them. Now that's what they've become."

One theory is Schottenheimer had success last season when receiver Andre Rison made a contribution for the Chiefs without his usual disruptions. So this season, he added more players with Rison-like reputations. Schottenheimer thought he had the answer to handling problem players. Instead, KC is 4-6, and a team in total turmoil.

Did Marty figure he could be a thug-tamer like Jimmy Johnson? "Jimmy still can get away with it because any bad apple he brings in has a contract that is easily dumped," said one NFL head coach.

If nothing else, Schottenheimer now serves as the poster boy for the jock-world movement known as "Character Counts." Don't be like Marty.

(c) 1998, Fort Worth Star-Telegram

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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.