9001040188
DETROIT FREE PRESS
900125
Thursday, January 25, 1990
METRO FINAL
1F
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 1990, Detroit Free Press
HOW DO NINERS DO IT? MONEY, EYE FOR PLAYERS
NEW ORLEANS -- There ought to be a rule. No one who has even rooted for
the Detroit Lions should be allowed to walk among the San Francisco 49ers.
It's too depressing.
Talk about the ultimate sports franchise. Here is a team that gushes
with talent, I mean it overflows. And they're so . . . happy! They are paid
well. They are treated like men. They even talk fondly of their owner, as if
he is a good friend whom they'd have over for a barbecue.
Pardon me while I drool.
"I don't want to say this is the best franchise in the NFL," says tight
end Jamie Williams, who was chastised for his dreadlocked hair with the
Houston Oilers but, like other castoffs, has found a home in San Francisco,
"but when we walk off the field after a game, other players tap me and say,
'Yo, man, put in a good word for me with your owner, OK?' "
If there is one question about Super Bowl XXIV it is not who will win.
That is a given. The question is this: How can the San Francisco 49ers, year
after year, keep dancing in the clouds while other franchises barely get their
shoes tied?
The answer, I have learned, is an enviable stew of respect, talent and
money. The answer is Bill Walsh, the former coach, and Ed DeBartolo Jr., the
generous owner. The answer is a system in which players come and go but
assistant coaches stay for 10 years. The answer is attitude. Hey. How many
teams employ Harry Edwards, the noted sociologist, as a counselor? That's
right. He has an office in the 49ers' $11-million practice facility, not far
from the racquetball courts and indoor pool.
Harry Edwards?
Passed-over players found home
"The real key to the 49ers," says Jerry Rice, who ought to know, "is that
they keep coming up with the players." Indeed. But you might be surprised
where those players come from. Example: Joe Montana. He's a brilliant
quarterback, the best of the decade, some say the best ever. Except, you may
recall, every other team in football passed on the guy. He was the 27th pick
of the third round of the 1979 draft. The Lions, who could have had Montana
that round, instead picked Bo Robinson from West Virginia. Does anyone know
where he is?
The 49ers built a system around Montana, and he became one of many
lower-round picks to reach stardom in San Francisco. Running back Roger Craig
was a second-round pick. So was Keena Turner, the star linebacker. Tom
Rathman, a third-rounder, led all running backs in catches this season. John
Taylor, another third-rounder, caught the winning touchdown pass in Super Bowl
XXIII.
Michael Carter, nose tackle? Fifth round. Don Griffin, cornerback? Sixth
round. Who says you need a barrel of first- rounders to build a team? That's
just what losing teams tell you. The 49ers' starting defense Sunday will have
just one first-round pick (Ronnie Lott). This, by the way, is the same
defense that allowed one touchdown in the playoffs this year.
What does this mean? It means the 49ers' scouts are doing their homework.
They rarely trade. They don't have to. And just look who they scraped off the
free-agent heap: Matt Millen, the nasty linebacker who once starred with the
Raiders; Jim Burt, the heroic nose tackle with the New York Giants in the
1987 Super Bowl; Mike Sherrard, the receiver whom Dallas drafted No. 1 in
1986, then gave up on after a string of injuries.
All three have been revitalized in 49ers uniforms. Millen is a starter.
Sherrard could succeed Rice as the premier receiver. Other teams could have
had them; the 49ers got them.
"The reason people want to play here," Millen says, "is that the owner is
willing to spend money to win."
God, this is painful.
Let us count the ways
OK. Let's give credit where it is due. 1) DeBartolo. He foots the largest
payroll in the NFL (around $19 million). But unlike George Steinbrenner, who
throws good money after bad players, DeBartolo pays only the guys his staff
says are the right guys. And he keeps them happy. This is an owner who last
year asked for the names of every player's wife or girlfriend, then sent each
one a $500 gift certificate to Neiman Marcus. Cost him nearly $30,000. I'm
sure Bill Ford thought of that. He just forgot, right?
2) Walsh. The man was ahead of his time on offense and had a great eye
for talent as it fit into his system -- the same system George Seifert now
operates. Can you believe that fewer than half-a-dozen players remain from
the 1982 Super Bowl winners? The 49ers have completely rebuilt. And they won
two Super Bowls in the process.
3) Attitude. From the front office -- which works with local universities
to encourage players to get their college degrees -- to the players, who seem
so grateful they bust their butts to stay here, the chemistry on this team is
correct. It is an old-fashioned team and a sterling corporation rolled into
one. The result: three Super Bowls in the '80s, and most likely a fourth on
Sunday.
I watch these guys, then I think of the Lions' front office, which acts as
if money ruins everything.
"Aren't you spoiled?" I ask Pete Kugler, the nose tackle who says he will
retire after Sunday.
"We are," he says, grinning, "but we put out."
I'm so depressed.
COLUMN