Kirkendall over at CincyJungle has some good words to say about NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, who announced recently that he will step down this July and take on a consulting role.
I think Kirkendall will join me in thanking Mr. Tagliabue. Without his vision and leadership abilities, there would be no Cincinnati Bengals and no Indianapolis Colts. He envisioned an NFL that allowed small market teams in Buffalo, Indianapolis, Green Bay, and Cincinnati to complete with teams in Dallas, Washington, New York, and San Francisco.
Because of this, in my mind, Tagliabue is the best sports commissioner ever. For decades, football sat behind baseball and basketball in the American consciousness. Now, football is #1, and much of that is because of Tagliabue.
Early replacement suggestion: Rich McKay, current President and GM of the Atlanta Falcons and former GM of the Tampa Bay Bucs.