Vote of confidence
Houston owner lauds Shula, Cosby in bid for Browns
Posted: Thursday July 23, 1998 12:42 PM
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Don Shula is part of a group interested in buying the Cleveland Browns Stephen Dunn/Allsport |
HOUSTON (AP) -- Former NFL coach Don Shula and two others interested in
purchasing the expansion Cleveland Browns met in Houston last weekend with
Bud Adams, owner of the Tennessee Oilers and a
member of the NFL's powerful finance committee.
Adams told Houston television station KRIV on Wednesday that Shula was
accompanied by brothers Larry and Charles Dolan, who head a group that also
includes entertainer Bill Cosby. He characterized the two-hour session as
an introductory meeting.
Cleveland's new Browns are to take the field in 1999 and the ownership
issue is expected to be settled by September. The NFL is expected to set a
price for the team through a bidding process and most estimates have put
the price between $300 million and $350 million.
"To have Don Shula and Bill Cosby in the group shows how serious and strong
the Dolans are," said Adams, who still lives in Houston although he moved
the Oilers to Nashville last year.
Adams called Shula "a winner in everything he does" and Cosby "someone
everyone can relate to. To have him in the group is a plus-plus."
Shula grew up near Cleveland and played for the Browns in the 1950s. He has
said he would step down as vice chairman of Miami Dolphins board of
directors if the Dolans' bid for the Browns is successful and take over as
Browns' executive vice president with responsibility for hiring the new
team's front office and coach.
Adams told the television station that New York Yankees owner George
Steinbrenner had called him on behalf of the Dolans to set up the meeting.
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