Sporting News, Sept. 4, 1991
A lot to talk about as the NFL-USFL transfer window closes, with USFL free agency still in effect, and with the final coaching positions filled, player retirements announced, and signings to report. Let’s get right to it.
COACHING POSITIONS
After the early hirings of Coach Schottenheimer and Coach Infante by Chicago and Baltimore respectively, the floodgate opened and we saw all the remaining USFL teams fill their vacancies, including New Jersey, which started late after their management-coaching dispute led to Ray Perkings resigning to take the job at Alabama. So now we have all 5 positions filled and these five franchises begin a new direction. Here is where the coaches fell:
Baltimore: Lindy Infante (previously with the Green Bay Packers)
Birmingham: Ron Erhardt (previously the OC for the New York Giants)
Chicago: Marty Schottenheimer (previously with the Baltimore Blitz)
Memphis: Buddy Ryan (previously with the Philadelphia Eagles)
New Jersey: Sam Wyche (previously with the Cincinnati Bengals)
The Sam Wyche hiring was perhaps the most interesting, though we expect both Buddy Ryan and Marty Schottenheimer to provide us with lots of good quotes over the next year. Wyche was all set to sign on the dotted line with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when apparently the GM of the Generals was able to call the secretary in Tampa, they actually put Wyche on the phone and he was convinced not to sign until he heard the offer from New Jersey. Apparently the package put together by the Generals, combined with the ability to make a name for himself in the biggest media market in the country, was enough to convince Wyche to leave Tampa and fly to Newark for a press conference with the Generals. Much like the Schottenheimer hiring which caused major ripples between the NFL and USFL, this signing may also lead to some bad blood, but it was totally above board within the confines of the agreement within the two leagues, so there is little chance of anything more than bluster from Tampa about how it went down.
As for the Generals, this hiring is very likely to lead to a major campaign to resign Doug Flutie. Wyche has already expressed quite publicly his belief that the diminutive QB is a special talent, and with Wyche’s reputation as an inventive offensive mind, it may now be an attractive spot for Flutie to stay, rather than accepting an offer from another club. We know that Flutie has spoken with both Denver and Memphis in the USFL, as well as both the Chicago Bears and New England Patriots in the NFL, so there are offers perhaps in the works, and New Jersey, if they are serious, will want to get in that conversation quickly.
RETIREMENTS
As anticipated, the biggest retirement announcement was that of long-time Philadelphia Stars QB Chuck Fusina. Fusina was the oldest player in the league after all, and with his past two seasons being marred by a high number of interceptions, as well as this year’s slide out of playoff contention, the writing was on the wall. Fusina leaves the league with a rich history of accolades and awards, as well as two championship rings. The Stars now look to move on with last year’s rookie pick, Browning Nagle likely to get his chance as the starter, though Philadelphia has signed a capable veteran as well (see below) just in case.
The surprise retirement, the one that will likely impact the upcoming draft, is the announcement by 8 year veteran and recently dubbed USFL Champion, Oakland halfback Richard Williams. The Williams announcement comes as a surprise not only because of the team’s success, but because his nearly 1,400 yards rushing this year was a career best. It seems clear that Williams still has gas in the tank, and there are some who believe that his announced retirement may be a ploy to allow him to freely negotiate with NFL teams as a retired player, exempt from the transfer window system now in place. That is a possibility, but one that would certainly come with inter-league negotiations attached, as it appears to be a loophole not recognized when the two league’s agreed on a free agency system. You do not want players announcing retirement and then immediately coming out of retirement with a contract in the rival league. We shall see how this ends up.
Other, almost certainly final, retirements in this offseason have included Baltimore TE Mark Keel, Michigan HB Stanford Jennings, New Jersey LB Stan Padilla, Orlando HB Curtis Bledsoe, Pittsburgh LB Greg Gerkin, Portland LB David Peace, and Texas CB Brent Woodson.
PLAYER MOVEMENT
We have had a pretty significant number of moves this offseason, particularly during the NFL-USFL tranfer window. Let’s look at all the names first, and then we can comment on some of the bigger moves and some players still in the market.
We expect you have already spotted some of the big stories. For our money, the biggest is Texas losing the ALL-USFL 1991 Offensive Player of the Year, wideout Carlos Carson to the NFL. That one will certainly hurt the Outlaws. Certainly New Jersey losing J.J. Birden will also hurt, as will the departure of Kevin Harmon from Washington, or Blair Bush from Philly, or Dalton Hilliard from New Orleans. And let’s not underestimate what a big part of the Stars’ success punter Sean Landeta has been. Him departing for the NFL is sure to leave a gap for the Stars.
On the positive side, we did see a lot of the brightest stars re-up with their teams, including Henry Ellard for the new league champion Invaders, Kevin Greene in Birmingham, and LB Hardy Nickerson in Michigan. Of the new signings, we absolutely understand the roll that Bob Gagliano will play in Philly, mentoring the young Browning Nagle, and we think Orlando did more than fill for the retirement of Curtis Bledsoe by signing former Breaker Dalton Hilliard. Louis Lipps in Pittsburgh, Bill Brooks in Baltimore, and even Willie Gillespie going to Denver all fill huge needs in each club’s receiving corps, whether it is for reliability, speed, or slot receiving skills. Not sure what Portland is going to do with Oliver Luck, though they may be open to trading David Archer and using Luck as a backup to Kerwin Bell. Booker Reese looks like he will step out of Reggie White’s shadow and get a chance to be the #1 guy on the new St. Louis defensive line, and Orlando, who wanted to upgrade their run offense, may have made the best move all offseason in snagging center Blair Bush from the Stars. He is an instant upgrade for their ability to run counters, pulling plays and sweeps.
Still on the market we have several big names in the league. Some are likely to be snapped up quickly, others may struggle to find a landing spot. The names we are watching include QB’s Walter Lewis and Sean Salisbury; HBs Tim Spencer and Lydell Carr, WR Quinn Early, TE Clint Didier, DE Rueben Davis, DT Dan Saleamua, LB’s Ed Brady, Tommy Taylor and Manu Tuiasosopo, CB’s Raphel Cherry, Domingo Bryant and Issaic Holt, and Safety Vencie Glenn, and O-linemen David Houle, Randy Dixon, and Tom Newberry.
And, of course, we are not forgetting Doug Flutie, who has been at the center of a drama-packed season and off-season. He has the chance to return to Boston if he chooses, with the New England Patriots of the NFL in serious conversations with him, but if he opts to return to the USFL, he will have no lack of teams reaching out. We know Denver is interested, as aging Vince Evans just does not have the dual threat ability which once made him an early league favorite. We also have heard that new Head Coach Buddy Ryan has an interest in Flutie in Memphis, and, as noted earlier, Coach Wyche of the Generals seems clearly in the Flutie camp, over Chris Miller. Can Wyche convince Flutie to stay a General, and if so, what does that mean for Chris Miller in New Jersey?
Finally, let’s talk about the few NFL players who have signed on with the USFL for this year. Perhaps the biggest name is Irving Fryar, who left the Patriots to serve as the #1 receiver in New Jersey with the Gamblers. If that is not a huge carrot to hold in front of Doug Flutie, I don’t know what else would be. Another interesting signing is the Breakers bringing a New Orleans Saint to the team. Rueben Mayes retired after the 1990 NFL season but is apparently itching to get back on the field after nearly a year and a half off, and will join the Breakers, splitting time, we expect, with Marcus Dupree. Not a bad combo if you have to lose Dalton Hiliard, as the Breakers did. In Oakland they are hoping that Matt Bahr’s accuracy will help them deal with the loss of Kevin Shea’s monster leg, while in Tampa Bay, the task of backing up Troy Aikman moves from Oliver Luck to another former Saint, John Fourcade. We won’t see any more NFL signings until after the 1991 NFL fall season, but with the new tranfer window in January, it is possible that there will be some players taking a short break between the end of the NFL season and new USFL action in March.
A lot of happenings already. We expect that as we build to the newly-scheduled February Collegiate Draft, along with the second NFL-USFL window in January & February, there will be plenty of roster shifts to announce. We leave you today with something far less dramatic, but also still interesting, two uniform and league design notes.
The first is the celebration of 10 seasons of USFL Football. 1992 will mark the tenth season for the league, and to commemorate the occasion all teams will wear a special anniversary patch on their jerseys (even teams that came into the league in 1984, '87, '88, or this year, as St. Louis is. It is a celebration of a milestone for the league. The patch will appear on the right shoulder of each team's jersey, as pictured below on the new Pittsburgh home jerseys.
The second is our presentation of the new uniform designs produced by Russell Athletic for the Houston Gamblers. The uniform itself is not that distinct from their former look, with the same helmet and basic striping patterns. Gone are the grey pants and in their place the Gamblers will have white and black options. The other new feature is a secondary logo, based on their primary “Texas G” logo, this one featuring only the state of Texas silhouette with the gold star. The new secondary logo will appear both as a sticker on the back of each helmet and as a patch on the left shoulder of each jersey. A pretty modest upgrade, but one which will maintain a pretty solid look for a team that has had a lot of success since coming into the league in 1984.
Well, if the first NFL-USFL transfer window is any indication, the process is certainly smoother, but does not reduce the impact of player transfers from one league to another. We saw, both for coaches and players, a decent number of big-name signings, but we also should note that there were just as many big-name signings between NFL clubs and between USFL clubs, so perhaps what we are going to witness with the new mediated agreement between the new league is more akin to intra-league free agency than an inter-league war of attrition. That, very likely, will be good for both leagues in the long run.