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Both of them
Join Date: Sep 2006
Posts: 10,225
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Character counts with Hawks
http://www.thenewstribune.com/sports/story/128285.html
Quote:
When NFL commissioner Roger Goodell decided that one of his primary goals was to rehabilitate the increasingly troubled image of the NFL, he turned to Seattle Seahawks president and general manager Tim Ruskell as an ally.
Ruskell, after all, was the person who came to the Seahawks, replacing Bob Whitsitt as the face of the organization’s personnel side, and made the firm decision to consider a player’s character almost as much as his on-field talent.
In a relatively short period, Ruskell jettisoned in one fashion or another inflammatory personalities like Koren Robinson, Anthony Simmons, Ken Hamlin, Jerramy Stevens and Darrell Jackson, making the Seahawks a much less dramatic but more much united group.
Owners and coaches, of course, are naturally skeptical about such an approach, particularly if a player, no matter how troubled, could enable a team to win (read: Ray Lewis).
So as Goodell attempted to crack down on the Adam “Pacman” Joneses, Tank Johnsons and Michael Vicks of the league, he enlisted the persuasive services of Ruskell and had him speak to those cynical souls about the more stringent disciplinarian approach at an owners’ meeting.
“It’s kind of been an ongoing thing, and in the process we explained to (Goodell) what we have done,” Ruskell said in his office overlooking the team’s practice fields. “He was intrigued by that so he asked me to say something at these owners meetings.
“I talked to the owners about ... what we do and why I think it works. The theme of it was that you can make a decision not to bring that type of player in, and that certainly prevents having to deal with some of the problems we have to deal with today.”
After Ruskell spoke, a number of owners, including Miami’s Wayne Huizenga, told Ruskell that it was a view the league needs desperately to adopt. Goodell then placed Ruskell on a four-man advisory committee to help draft the league’s player conduct policy.
“Look at the problems you get” when you acquire troubled players, Ruskell said. “It doesn’t have to be you. It doesn’t have to be us. And Roger is trying to say, ‘No, we don’t have to take this guy (at all). The more teams that figure this out and don’t have to go through what we (as a league) are going through, the better.”
Ruskell has other ideas that would allow teams to identify potential problems before they even enter the league. He said he got mixed reception on his philosophies about screening college players thoroughly, doing more than cursory background checks and then being serious about forgoing that player as a draft choice if his history is checkered or the investigation of his character reveals serious concerns.
“We need to screen guys before they get into the league, and put our teeth into that,” Ruskell said, “rather than (teams) just saying we are getting the best guy. It is one thing to say that, but what did you do about it? When you were faced with the situation of ‘we like this guy, but he did this,’ did you say no? A lot of that is early on. We really haven’t looked at that angle of the player conduct yet.”
Ruskell said the Seahawks’ background profiles, adopted from his days in Tampa Bay, already go well beyond the normal standards.
“We really make it a 50-50 proposition,” Ruskell said. “All the character grades for us weigh as much as the ability grade. We turn our scouts into detectives. Don’t just talk to the football coaches because they are going to protect their players sometimes. You have to go the extra mile. You have to talk to academic advisors, dorm counselors, high school coaches. We put a requirement on (scouts) to talk to these people. We make sure they meet a certain criteria.”
The result has been beyond expectations. While Atlanta, Tennessee and Cincinnati cope with off-the-field distractions, the Seahawks camp has been downright boring by comparison, devoid of anything but talk of football.
It’s a welcome environment, to be sure.
“It’s sad to me when that happens,” Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren said. “A guy appears to have everything that most of us when we are young kids want. And all of a sudden through some crazy thing they lose it – or could lose it.
“Those things, when they happen, are distractions, regardless of what anyone cares to say. You work very hard to limit that. This group of guys here is a pretty solid group.”
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