CFL President & COO Jeff Giles announced yesterday that
he will resign after the league's Grey Cup on November 26
(CFL). Giles was named CFL COO in December '94 and
President in '97, and, in Toronto, Perry Lefko writes,
"Giles has been a force behind some aggressive marketing
strategies for the league, finding a new owner for the Argos
last year and the expected revival of a team in Ottawa next
year." However, some of Giles' "other plans," such as
"continuing talks" with the WWF -- which "aimed to become a
major" partner with the CFL -- "failed to receive the
requisite support" from the league's governors. Lefko adds
that Giles almost resigned after the '99 season, but decided
to "stick around for one more year hoping to win full
support from the board." Giles: "I have a pretty aggressive
vision for this league. I have been pushing that vision for
[the] past couple of years and I would say that I have not
been successful in selling that vision to our governors. ...
There are people on this board who want to be aggressive and
there are people who don't" (TORONTO SUN, 8/31). Also in
Toronto, Leah Hendry writes that though the CFL "appears to
be stable," it has "challenges to overcome" from the AFL and
XFL. Giles said that it is "imperative that the CFL break
from its conservative style of business." Giles: "We need
to get aggressive and bold. We shouldn't wait for people to
knock us off one at a time" (Toronto GLOBE & MAIL, 8/31).
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: Giles tells the OTTAWA CITIZEN's
Ken Warren: "I'm pleased with the things we've accomplished
over the past three or four years. Our TV ratings, our TV
deal, our Radically Canadian [campaign], the expansion to
Ottawa. We've been able to ship $25 million back to the
teams over the last four years. ... The league is much
stronger than when I arrived." Giles adds of his future, "I
will not be involved with the CFL" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 8/31).
