Chiefs Reportedly Set to Hire Vermeil

K A N S A S  C I T Y, Mo., Jan. 11, 2001 -- Dick Vermeil is finally set to return tothe NFL as coach of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Now that the NFL has issued a compensation ruling, the Chiefshave called a news conference for Friday to formally introduceVermeil, according to The Kansas City Star.

The newspaper also reported in today's editions that Vermeillast week agreed to a three-year, $10 million contract.

Chiefs Praise ‘Fair’ Deal

Kansas City pried Vermeil out of his consultant's contract withSt. Louis, and the NFL ruled Wednesday it will cost the Chiefs asecond- and third-round draft pick and Vermeil $500,000 he was paidthis season by the Rams.

Chiefs president Carl Peterson said it's fair compensation for"the premier football coach in the National Football League."

"Dick Vermeil's record speaks for itself," Peterson saidWednesday following NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue's ruling. "Ithink it was appropriate for a Super Bowl coach. This man has beensuccessful at everything he's ever done."

Vermeil, who retired after coaching the Rams to last year'sSuper Bowl title over Tennessee, said he, too, was pleased.

"I thought they made it fair. I feel good about it. I'm gladthe Rams got something," Vermeil said from his home in thePhiladelphia area. "They were good to me for three years. This isa way of paying something back to them."

Asked when the Chiefs would begin working out contractparticulars with Vermeil, Peterson said, "When does the next planefrom Philadelphia get in?"

Peterson and Vermeil Have Long History

Peterson and Vermeil were coaches together at UCLA more than twodecades ago. Their friendship deepened when Vermeil led the 1980Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl while Peterson was directorof player personnel.

Peterson tried to talk his buddy out of retirement when he wasfirst put in charge of the Chiefs in 1989. He wound up with hissecond choice, Marty Schottenheimer.

Gunther Cunningham, after a 7-9 season, was left dangling for aweek until Peterson persuaded Vermeil to come back "to doing whathe loves."

It's the second time Vermeil, 64, has come out of retirement. Hestepped down after Philadelphia's Super Bowl and worked as a TVcommentator for 13 years before joining the Rams three seasons ago.

"I guess it was just meant to be," he said of his reunion withPeterson. "We were together at UCLA and the Eagles and now we'retogether again in Kansas City. I'm appreciative of how thecommissioner ruled. It allows me to do what I'm best at, withpeople I admire and respect."

Tagliabue Rules on Agreement

The Chiefs will give the Rams their second-round pick this yearand the 2002 third-round choice they acquired from Washington afterthe Redskins signed Schottenheimer.

Besides the draft picks, Tagliabue also said the Rams were duethe $500,000 they paid Vermeil as a consultant. Peterson saidVermeil would "make the Rams whole."

Rams president John Shaw said when Vermeil left the team he wasgiven a $2 million bonus as a thank-you for the Super Bowlchampionship, but that it was not intended as a payoff for theremainder of the contract.

Tagliabue found that, although the agreement did not prohibitVermeil from seeking a coaching position with another club in 2000or 2001, "the clear purpose and effect of the agreement … wasthat Vermeil would remain retired from coaching through the 2001season."

Peterson said publicly that he did not believe the Chiefs owedthe Rams anything. But he said Wednesday the Rams might have madeout even better had they been willing to deal with him and not takethe matter to the commissioner.

"If John Shaw and the Rams had decided to negotiate, we couldhave come to the same conclusion, perhaps even a better decision bythe St. Louis Rams. I consider this individual the best coach inthe National Football League," Peterson said.

Shaw appeared to be satisfied.

"The Rams feel vindicated that commissioner Tagliabue hasawarded us significant draft compensation," he said.

"This decision protects and upholds the NFL's anti-tamperingpolicy and the integrity of a coach's contract. This matter is nowclosed. We will focus our efforts on completing the Rams' coachingstaff, free agency, the upcoming collegiate draft and preparing forthe 2001 season."