The NFL's word for this year is "change."
Eleven teams have changed coaches. Some 100 veterans have changed teams. Three teams have changed logos. Four teams have changed training sites. One team has changed homes. And few teams have much change to spare.Welcome to the 1997 NFL season:
WHAT'S THE DEAL?
The rookie salary pool was supposed to make the signing of draft picks quick and painless. But through Friday, only 130 of 240 draft picks had signed, including only two first-rounders. (Miami receiver Yatil Green, drafted 15th, signed a 5-year, $6.25 million contract that got him to camp on time. Philadelphia defensive end Jon Harris signed a 5-year, $5 million deal as the 25th pick.) Since the 1997 salary cap increased only about $700,000 over last year's, many teams have to first make room under their cap by restructuring contracts.
WILL HE STAY OR WILL HE GO?
The Dallas Cowboys open camp Friday presumably not knowing whether embattled receiver Michael Irvin will be among them. Irvin, unhappy in Dallas since his cocaine trial last year, has asked for a trade and threatened retirement.
His options are limited, though. The Cowboys can't afford to cut him or trade him because the 5-year contract Irvin signed in 1995 included a $4.5 million signing bonus that would cost them $900,000 against their cap this year and $1.8 million next year. If he retires, Irvin could be forced to reimburse Dallas more than $2 million in signing bonus money.
WILL THE LIONS BE BARRY GOOD?
Detroit Lions running back Barry Sanders is a future Hall of Famer and wants to be paid like it. Bobby Ross is the Lions' new head coach and wants the authority that goes with that.
Sanders and Ross clashed when Sanders failed to show at a mandatory minicamp in February and a voluntary camp in June. Sanders, who was given permission to skip camps under coach Wayne Fontes, was protesting the pace of renegotiation talks.
Sanders is in the last year of a contract that calls for him to make $3.82 million in base salary. The Lions reportedly have offered a 4-year deal with an option for a fifth year that would pay him an estimated $27.5 million. The Lions start camp Thursday -- with or without Sanders.
CAN YOU SAY TENNESSEE OILERS?
It's finally official: The moving vans arrived in Tennessee on Friday. There is no more Houston in Oilers.
The Oilers will get more support than they did last year in Houston when they averaged 31,000 per game at the Astrodome. But longtime Oilers are having a hard time uprooting their families.
"A lot of the younger guys are excited about going to Tennessee, but, to tell you the truth, I haven't felt that excitement yet," offensive guard Bruce Matthews said. "I'm a Houston Oiler, and, no matter how many years I play in Tennessee, I'll always be a Houston Oiler."
CAN THEY STAND THE HEAT?
In 1971, 11 teams changed head coaches. That record was tied this year. Mike Ditka and Dick Vermeil have come out of long retirements and once-retired Bill Parcells has changed zip codes. Only Kevin Gilbride, Steve Mariucci and Jim Fassell have never headed NFL teams before.
WILL DESMOND BE A DUD OR A STUD?
The Raiders signed the 1996 Super Bowl MVP, Dallas cornerback Larry Brown, to a 5-year, $12.5 million contract last off-season. Brown, claiming he didn't know the defense, benched himself last season.
Oakland is at it again, having signed 1997 Super Bowl MVP, Green Bay returner Desmond Howard, to a 4-year, $6 million contract. Howard, a bust in Washington and Jacksonville, returned three punts for touchdowns in the regular season, had another in the playoffs against the 49ers and sealed the Super Bowl for the Packers with a 99-yard kickoff return. However, before last season, Howard had just one return for a touchdown in his career.
WHAT IS WARREN SAPP'S FUTURE?
Sapp has pled not guilty to a misdemeanor marijuana possession charge and will have his day in court July 31. An anonymous tip led Tampa police to stop Sapp, who was driving his car in an east Tampa neighborhood on June 7. Police said a search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of 12.7 grams of marijuana. Sapp has admitted that he twice failed marijuana tests, including at the NFL scouting combine in 1995.
WILL THE COWBOYS GET A KICK OUT OF THIS SEASON?
Dallas lost its offensive MVP of last year, kicker Chris Boniol, to division rival Philadelphia. Boniol made 66 of 71 field goals from inside the 40 in his three years in Dallas and his active streak of 27 consecutive field goals ranks third longest in NFL history. The Cowboys are trying out Richie Cunningham, who has been in three NFL training camps; Danny Kight, who played semipro football last year; and Marshall Young, a rookie from Texas-El Paso.
Can the Raiders make Jeff George happy?
The Raiders have gambled $27.5 million on George, whose sideline confrontation with former Atlanta coach June Jones led to his suspension and eventual release. George, 29, has never earned the devotion of his teammates, something he promises to try to do in Oakland.