Kennan Says NFL Coaches Felt Betrayed By Ending Of Pension Plan
NFL Coaches Association Exec Dir Larry Kennan said the league's coaches felt "really betrayed" by the NFL's owners voting to opt out of a uniform pension plan for non-playing employees "because there had been no advance warning of any kind that this was a possibility," according to Mike Reiss of the BOSTON GLOBE. Kennan: "We were also miffed that the decision was made after everybody in the league had signed their contracts for 2009, and all the staffs were in place. One of the reasons we coach in the NFL, rather than college, is because the NFL has a wonderful retirement plan." Kennan said there are "nine teams to my knowledge that have opted out" of the plan. Kennan: "We don't know what to expect. Some of the owners have said, 'We will give you a pension plan that is every bit as good as what you had.' So we're not passing judgment on them because maybe they will. ... What we do know is that it's going to make portability in the league, and going from team to team, a different deal now because you have to check and see what type of retirement plan they have." Kennan added, "In all the time I've been doing this, I've never seen coaches this upset. ... They don't trust the owners as a group. ... When the 32 owners allow this to happen and pass this resolution and allow this to change, it's hard to trust the league and the owners as a group" (BOSTON GLOBE, 5/10). In N.Y., Gary Myers noted the NFL "points out that all benefits earned through 2008 will be funded and paid." But the loss of the uniform plan "has become a huge issue with assistant coaches" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/10).
GOOD FIT ABROAD: SI.com's Ross Tucker wrote of reports the Super Bowl, which is "already an outrageously expensive neutral site game," could be played in London, "I could make a compelling argument that playing a Super Bowl abroad is better than shipping a regular-season home game over there." Tucker: "I'm aware of the financial impact the big game has in the cities in which it is played here in the U.S., but I think that can be easily trumped by the economic impact it could have on the entire league if the game can get some more traction internationally" (SI.com, 5/8). In San Diego, Nick Canepa writes London "would be a marvelous Super Bowl town." Wembley Stadium is "perfect," as "all the NFL would need to do is replace the awful turf (which it does here, anyway)." Canepa: "Put one in London. Put one in New York, Foxborough, Philadelphia, Chicago, not to mention Seattle" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 5/11).
LEADING THE CHARGE: The DAILY NEWS' Myers reported NFL Exec VP & General Counsel Jeff Pash, who was a "candidate for the commissioner's job to replace Paul Tagliabue, will be the NFL's lead negotiator in the CBA talks" with NFLPA Exec Dir DeMaurice Smith. Pash will "work in conjunction with the NFL Management Council executive committee," which includes Giants President & CEO John Mara and Packers President & CEO Mark Murphy (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/10).
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