Time to regroup
Niners look to recover from front office shakeup
Posted: Wednesday July 22, 1998 11:40 PM
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"This football team will remain very focused and will take care of business," Mariucci said AP |
STOCKTON, California (AP) -- Jerry Rice worried
about the loss of a leader. Harris Barton
fretted over the image of a front office in disarray.
Steve Young
took some consolation in pointing to the team's history of handling
adversity in tumultuous times.
Carmen Policy's startling resignation as the San Francisco 49ers'
president left players, coaches and executives wondering Wednesday about
the direction of one of the league's marquee franchises.
"This is the team that everybody seems to look at, and I'm sure the
commissioner's office is not real happy with the commotion that's going on
with the Niners," Barton said after practice at training camp.
"This is the flagship team of the league. There's a lot of superstars on
this team. It's won Super Bowls. It's always up there contending. They want
stability. When stuff like this happens I know the rest of the league is
looking at it and saying `What the hell is going on out there.'"
Policy's stay with the club had become tenuous since his relationship
with team co-owner Eddie DeBartolo soured this year. The two, friends for
30 years, have not spoken to each other since a heated meeting in January.
"So something was inevitable. Something was going to happen. I just think
we were all surprised by the timing," Barton said. "You just wish somebody
could have stepped in between them."
Coach Steve Mariucci said he learned of Policy's resignation Tuesday
night and called a team meeting around 11 p.m. to inform the players.
"Time will tell what kind of effect it has on the team, but my guess is
this: This football team will remain very focused and will take care of
business," Mariucci said. "We as coaches have a job to do. Our players have
a job to do. This is our time to go get another Super Bowl."
Policy was known for his ability to manipulate the salary cap and stock
the team with talent.
Rice, in the midst of a comeback from two serious knee injuries that
wiped out his season last year, said he will be difficult to replace.
"You worry about it, but you just hope the next guy in line can make the
right decisions, the right judgments," Rice said. "We have to wait and see.
We just have to focus in on our job because when it's time to play football
if we don't go out and play well, I think the blame will go towards the
players."
Young said the 49ers in the past have withstood changes to coaches,
executives and players and handled them with aplomb, winning five Super
Bowls since 1981.
"I know I'm very fond of Carmen, but I believe this is the organization
that can handle these types of transitions," Young said.
"This actually has happened at a very good time for us in that management
has done all that it can already to put this team together. Now we're in
training camp and it's really up to the players and coaches so really very
little will change. We [the players] feel it's business as usual for us
because it's in our laps anyway."
Added safety Tim
McDonald: "I don't know what's going to happen down the road and I
don't think it's my place to say. Our job is to win football games and I
think we have a good chance of doing that."
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