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Irvin done in Dallas Specialist gives Irvin bad news on return to Cowboys
Posted: Thursday December 09, 1999 09:06 AM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Peter King spoke with CNN/SI anchor Bob Lorenz going into Sunday's Week 13 games: Bob Lorenz: Peter King joins us in Boston and will be in Foxboro tonight where the Patriots will host the Cowboys. Peter, the Cowboys are going to be without Michael Irvin because they have placed him on injured reserve for the rest of the season, but it brings up the question: Is he done forever? Peter King: Well, he is done forever, Bob, with the Dallas Cowboys. When Michael Irvin went to see a specialist on Tuesday along with his wife he got the worst possible news he could have gotten. The doctor recommended to Irvin that he never play football again. And he will not play for the Dallas Cowboys this year. And it is 98 percent sure, no matter what happens to rehab the spine, he will never play for them again. Bob, he would be very wise to call it a career right now. BL: Chicago's quarterback, Jim Miller, is done for the season after being suspended for testing positive for steroids in a dietary supplement that he bought over the counter. Peter, Jim Miller admitted his mistake and thought he'd be the last person to let down his team but he has let them down in an even bigger way, how? PK: Well, he let them down in this way. I was talking to people inside the NFL office this week familiar with Miller's case and they said, "Why did this guy drop his appeal?" He could have appealed and probably play the rest of the year because the appeals process would have taken a long time. The Bears are 5-7 and that would have meant that Jim Miller probably could have quarterbacked this team the rest of the way, but he chose not to do that. Now, why did he choose not to do that? Because after the season Jim Miller is going to be a free agent. Jim Miller, this could be the last time in his career that he could make a big payday. No one is going to pay Jim Miller an awful lot of money if he has a four-week steroid suspension hanging over his head because he was going to lose his appeal. So he goes into the offseason now free and clear. He will make a lot of money in free agency and just if you don't think so, Scott Mitchell, when he was a free agent with the Miami Dolphins after throwing only 230 passes, he made $19 million and that was six years ago. This time Jim Miller, who threw 178 passes, is going to make at least $4 million a year on the open market, but not for the Bears. BL: Michael Strahan apologized to his coach after his outburst earlier in the week, saying that Jim Fassel was still captain of the ship. But Peter, has Giants head coach Jim Fassel lost control of that ship? PK: Well, that's a great question because this is the third time this year that Jim Fassel has had to tell his defense to shut up. And how many times do you have to say something before players respect it? Jim Fassel, by continuing to have to say this over and over again, basically it tells me that he has lost control of the defensive guys on this team. Now, this game today is a vital game for the future of Jim Fassel for a very simple reason. After today, the final four games that the Giants play this year are all against possible playoff teams that are over .500. Jim Fassel must finish strong to keep his job. Now one other point about this: I was at the Sports Illustrated's 20th Century Sports Awards dinner the other night at Madison Square Garden. I saw Keyshawn Johnson and Michael Strahan meet. They hugged and Keyshawn Johnson says to him, "Look at us, two thugs." And I think those guys can joke about it right now, but guys on both of their teams, the Jets and the Giants, are upset about the comments those guys made. BL: Peter, Ryan Leaf returned to the Chargers this week and apologized to his teammates, but the team has petitioned the league not to have to pay $2.7 million in deferred bonus money to Leaf. What is going on there? PK: Well, what the Chargers are saying to Ryan Leaf is, "Hey, you played in a flag football game, you shouldn't have done it, you violated your contract, now we're going to play hardball with you because you've been such a big disappointment to us." They are hanging this thing like a carrot over his head, and they are saying, "You want that money, then you show us that you are serious about football." In the last month of the season, Ryan Leaf will play for the San Diego Chargers. If he plays well and gets back in their good graces, he gets the money. BL: Norv Turner, Jim Fassel, Pete Carroll and Bruce Coslet are all in precarious positions right now, so whatever happens, who is the hot candidate out there when the openings do become available? PK: Well, assuming that the Patriots and Redskins both make a change, the one guy who will be on both of their short lists is Bill Belichick, the Jets defensive aide. A couple of reasons here. No. 1, he has made Peyton Manning really struggle this year in both the games the Colts played against the Jets. And No. 2, Bill Belichick has a clause in his contract that basically says if there is a change in ownership he does not have to abide by the edict that he succeeds Bill Parcells as coach of the Jets. So look for Bill Belichick, once the team is sold, to sow his wild oats and look around. BL: The Steelers' Bill Cowher has the longest tenure of any coach in the AFC, but there are rumblings that that may be about to end. What's the latest there? PK: Well, if Bill Cowher leaves, there is no doubt that the Steelers will consider Dom Capers, who has Jacksonville playing the best defense in the NFL right now. But Dan Rooney came out again this week and said that both Bill Cowher, his embattled coach, and his quarterback, Kordell Stewart, are going to be back opening day of 2000. Now, I walked off the field last week in Pittsburgh with Kevin Gilbride, the Steelers' offensive coordinator, and he said Kordell is letting these fans destroy him and that's the key thing with Kordell Stewart right now. He has got to stop having such rabbit ears and he's got to continue just playing the football, the running and passing style, that made him so good two years ago. BL: Shannon Sharpe was the mouth that roared for the Denver Broncos the last few years but he has been out most of this year. Is his time about up in Denver? PK: I think his time is definitely up. Shannon Sharpe is out of Denver after this season. Look for him to look for a team that wants to use the tight end more and doesn't have a young guy like Byron Chamberlain behind him. I mean the Denver Broncos don't view Shannon Sharpe as a $3.5 million dollar every-down player anymore, and I think a place like Seattle or maybe Kansas City, places that want to throw to the tight end, will consider Shannon Sharpe but he will not come back to Denver.
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