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| McKay says the Falcons look at how prospective players fit the community, not just the team. |
Rich McKay has always been around football. As the son of legendary USC coach John McKay, who later was the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first coach, Rich McKay grew up in the game. Almost 20 years after his father retired, McKay, a former Bucs ballboy who joined the front office in 1992, helped transform the team into Super Bowl champion in 2003. Named president and general manager of the Atlanta Falcons in December 2003, he then quickly rebuilt a team that was 5-11 in 2003 into an NFC title game participant last season.
McKay has been co-chairman of the NFL Competition Committee since 1998. He spoke recently with SportsBusiness Journal New York bureau chief Jerry Kavanagh.
Education: Princeton and Stetson Law
Favorite movie: The best movie ever made, “The Godfather”
Favorite music: I’m a basic California kid, so I’m an Eagles guy.
Favorite sporting event: The Rose Bowl
Favorite vacation spot: Europe
What are you reading: “The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness” by Stephen Covey and “The Big Bad Wolf” by James Patterson
Greatest competitors: Michael Jordan and Jack Nicklaus
Smartest player: Johnny Unitas
Basic business philosophy: Be inclusive. Try to provide an atmosphere where people will succeed.
Favorite quote: “Don’t mistake activity for achievement.” So many people want to talk about how hard they work, but in reality it’s about what you do, what you achieve.
What’s the best thing about working in pro football?
McKay: It’s the opportunity to compete in a game as a grown-up. What I enjoy is that on Sundays you get to have your team compete against their team and see who wins. I like the fact that as adults we still get to play or be involved in a game that’s usually reserved for younger people.
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| McKay’s dad, John, was the Bucs’ first coach. |
Jerry West said, “For the people who are fortunate enough to be able to work for franchises, there’s a tremendous amount of gratification in helping to build a team. It’s a challenge every day.” What’s the biggest challenge for you?
McKay: Maintaining an environment that is conducive to winning continuously. That may sound simple, but in our business every day some challenge occurs that threatens the continuity of success, and that’s the biggest challenge. It’s dealing with whatever may come your way, whether it’s a player having an off-the-field incident, an injury, a coach leaving your staff and going somewhere else … whatever it may be. Trying to continuously keep the atmosphere of winning is what we’re all about.
The NFL formula doesn’t make it easy. You finish with a good record and you get a tougher schedule the next season and a lower draft slot. And if you have very good players, you should have less cap space.
McKay: There’s no question that the system does not promote winning on a continuous basis. But I think what some teams have proven is you can do it. It’s not impossible, as it was thought maybe five years ago that it would be. But the guys who manage the situation — that being the owner, the GM and the head coach — better all be on the same page and better have a plan as to how they’re going to manage the success.
You helped take a perennial loser, Tampa Bay, to the Super Bowl and the Falcons to the NFC title game. What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learned about building and running an NFL team?
McKay: There are many lessons. One that sticks in my mind is that you have to be prepared in this business to make tough decisions. And sometimes, tough decisions don’t mean they’re popular. In fact, they’re probably unpopular. And I think to the extent you learn that you must make decisions based on winning, not based on what may sound good or appear good in the newspaper, then you’ll do fine in this business. But that’s hard because we all like to wake up and read or hear things that are positive, and in this business you must be prepared for the fact that sometimes it’s going to be negative. I’ve seen that very much in Philadelphia, where I thought they did a marvelous job about three years in a row when they let some older veterans go on. They brought up the younger veterans that they liked, and they took a lot of grief for it. Yet they continued to win and continued to compete at a championship level.
Aside from overall skill, is there any one thing you look for in a college player?
McKay: We try to grade and draft based on the whole person — on who this person is, who he is going to be on our field, how he’s going to fit our scheme, how he’s going to fit our locker room and how he’s going to fit our community. You know, we’re just football guys, so we’re not the smartest guys, but we’re trying to look big picture when we draft a player.
You have referred to the gamesmanship that goes on prior to the draft. I read where last year you said, “You’re starting to play liar’s poker of who’s going where. Everybody’s talking. You’ve got to say 30 percent of it’s truthful and 70 percent is absolutely not truthful.” So, there are misdirection plays on and off the field?
McKay: There are, and that to me really applies if you’re in the top 10 or 15 in the draft in the first round. If you’re up there, then it is a game of liar’s poker. It’s a lot of misinformation, a lot of false rumors. Whatever you can do to make sure that on draft day, when you say your name, everybody says, “Gee, I didn’t see that coming.” If you can do that, then you’ve played the game right.
You are co-chairman of the NFL Competition Committee.
McKay: I was fortunate enough when I first got on the Competition Committee that Don Shula and George Young were the co-chairmen. They told me on one of my first days, “Remember, we don’t make rules to change the game; we make rules to correct things that have shown up in the game that are hurting the game. We don’t want to make first downs nine yards just because it’s a change.” That’s stayed with me during my time on the Competition Committee.
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| Arthur Blank demands a focus on the fans. |
What in football would not be missed if it were eliminated?
McKay: I want to say commercials, but then I’d be in trouble with New York. I think there can be modifications to eliminate certain times in our game where there are stoppages for no reason, but for now, I think we’re OK.
Football is a violent game. Are you satisfied that everything is being done to ensure the safety of the players?
McKay: I am absolutely satisfied. I think every year, with respect to the Competition Committee, we spend a lot of time on injuries and on player safety. As a league we are extremely tuned in to those issues.
In your preseason letter to season-ticket holders, you talk about enhancing the fan experience. What in particular are the Falcons doing to enhance that experience?
McKay: When I interviewed with Arthur Blank, his thing was that our first focus has got to be the fans. He’s drilled it in enough times for me to know that that is going to be what we’re all about, whether that’s parking, access to the stadium, the food, the music, the halftime or pregame entertainment — whatever it’s going to be, it’s going to be focused on trying to make their experience such that they want to come back. We’re not in the business anymore of selling three hours of football; we’re in the business of selling a five-hour experience.
Look for more of this conversation in our sister publication, SportsBusiness Daily, located at www.sportsbusinessdaily.com.
