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Conflict of interest Steelers block Donahoe from working for Dolphins
Posted: Tuesday March 14, 2000 03:01 AM
PITTSBURGH (AP) -- Tom Donahoe isn't employed by the Pittsburgh Steelers any longer, but they apparently don't want him to work for any other team, either. At least not before the NFL draft next month. Donahoe will not work temporarily for the Miami Dolphins as a draft consultant because the Steelers apparently are concerned he might pass on information gathered for them. Donahoe has asked the league to clarify what work he can do while still under contract to the Steelers. Donahoe resigned under pressure as the Steelers' director of football operations Jan. 13, but the Steelers are paying his estimated $450,000 salary this season. Donahoe stepped down following a 6-10 season and disagreements with coach Bill Cowher over personnel matters. At the end of the season, both Donahoe and Cowher offered their resignations, but only Donahoe's was accepted. Under a new organizational chart outlined by team president Dan Rooney, Cowher is considered to be on an equal footing with new director of football operations Kevin Colbert when it comes to football-related decisions. After leaving the Steelers, Donahoe turned down an offer to head the Dolphins' player personnel department, a job that apparently would have paid him less than he made in Pittsburgh. But he agreed to work with the Dolphins as a draft consultant during the next month. Donahoe scheduled a number of trips to observe players during their individual workouts this month and also planned to spend a week in Miami when the Dolphins' scouts held their pre-draft meetings. Donahoe has had a long relationship with new Dolphins coach Dave Wannstedt, who tried to persuade him to accept the player personnel job. When Donahoe decided not to relocate from Pittsburgh, at least for this year, Wannstedt asked him to work on the draft. Donahoe, a former Pittsburgh-area high school coach and athletic director, is considered one of the league's best talent scouts and is likely to receive offers from other NFL teams once the Steelers pay off the final year of his contract. At the time the Dolphins announced Donahoe would work for them, Donahoe said he had put in considerable time working on the draft. That statement apparently raised red flags with the Steelers, who felt he might disclose information he gathered in preparing for the Steelers' draft. The NFL apparently will decide what work Donahoe can or cannot accept while still under contract to the Steelers, though it is unlikely the issue will be decided before the draft on April 15 and 16. Donahoe has declined comment.
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