49ers co-Owner Eddie DeBartolo "is about to make a
formal offer to buy his sister's share of the 49ers -- and
is looking" to Bill Walsh to run the team, according to
Matier & Ross of the S.F. CHRONICLE. A source said the
offer contains a provision that if DeBartolo "is indicted
and convicted" in LA over questions of how he secured a
gaming licence, the team would be placed in a family trust.
Matier & Ross: "Walsh's possible re-emergence could lead to
a major shakeup in the 49ers' organization -- at the expense
of team President Carmen Policy, whom most insiders credit
with the team's success." One source said the buyout deal
"has the tentative blessing" of Denise DeBartolo York and
the offer could be forwarded to the league as early as next
week. But a league source told Matier & Ross that the NFL
"is likely to 'freeze' the current management structure --
keeping Policy in place -- 'until Eddie's indictment goes
away.'" While DeBartolo thinks "prosecutors don't have a
case against him," sources in LA "are predicting" that he
will be indicted, "possibly by late May" (CHRONICLE, 3/27).
THE GROWING DISTANCE BETWEEN FRIENDS: 49ers President
Carmen Policy said that his relationship with DeBartolo has
been "severed." Policy: "I have distanced myself
significantly from Eddie during this period. And I've
basically distanced myself on a personal level from Denise.
... I've backed way off on my personal relationship with
both of them" (Chadiha & Finnie, S.F. EXAMINER, 3/26).
