It's official: the Birmingham Stallions owner Marvin Warner has announced that the Stallions have been sold.
Marvin was the original owner of the Stallions, bringing the team into the NFL in 1965 (they began play in 1966). Although the team had its shares of highs and lows, they never found real success until the 1998 season, when they advanced their first, and only, Super Bowl. They were defeated by the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII by a score of 34-19, but it seemed the team had finally joined the elite of the NFL.
However, the team failed to maintain that level of success. While there were two seasons where they were able to make it to the playoffs, there were also 8 losing seasons out of the last 10.
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Rumors began to circulate towards the end of the 2006 season that Marvin was ill, and was interested in selling the team. The league approved the sale of the team in December of 2006; however with the same provision as the Cleveland Browns/Baltimore Ravens deal. The name, logo, records, statistics, etc. of the Stallions would remain with Birmingham; should the NFL relocate a franchise back to Alabama. There was one difference, however; the NFLPA ruled that since the franchise known as the Birmingham Stallions was no longer an active entity, the players contracts had to be bought out (paying out their effective one year salary for 2008) and the players were become free agents. Naturally, the Atlanta Falcons ownership attempted to sue for a reversal; but were unsuccessful. To add salt to the wounds, in order to maintain a competitive balance with regards to the salary cap; the Falcons had to count the salaries paid out against the 2008 cap, amounting to close to $40,000,000 in penalties.
The 2007 season was a disaster. The Stallions star quarterback, Michael Vick, was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in a dogfighting scandal. The loss of their franchise quarterback forced the team to plug in whoever they could to try to guide them to a respectable finish in this, their lame-duck season. Injuries and defections piled up. It got worse.
Bobby Petrino, in his first year coaching the Stallions, decided the lure of the college ranks was too strong compared the last season in Birmingham, without its franchise QB and the losses piling up. He resigned in December 2007, and Emmitt Thomas stepped in as interim coach - but the season was lost. The Stallions limped to a 4-12 record.
Now, with the draft just a couple months away, and the cupboards literally bare - Falcons ownership was forced to cobble together a hodgepodge coaching staff and prepare for the offseason. This was not how the Falcons envisioned their inaugural year. They were able to convince some of Petrino's staff to remain with the team, but the search was on for a Head Coach - someone who would steer his ship right into this Maelstrom, and come out the other side smiling.
There was a short list of former NFL Head Coaches to be considered:
June Jones - his run and shoot offense had QB Colt Brennan breaking records and the lowly Hawaii Warriors ranked #10 in the nation.
Jim Fassel - former New York Giants HC led the team to the Super Bowl in 2000, although they were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens.
Brian Billick - former HC of the Ravens, who defeated the Giants in the Super Bowl, and was just fired as HC following a 5-11 season.
in addition, there were some new faces out there, hungry for their first HC job:
Kent Austin - fresh off leading his team to a CFL Grey Cup Championship his first season, Kent is locked in a dispute over a new contract and is rumored to be interested in an NFL or College coaching job.
Charlie Weis - the former Patriots Offensive Coordinator and passing mastermind has been coaching the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, but after a dismal 2007, some are wondering if he'd be better off coaching in the NFL, like his counterpart, former Pats DC Romeo Crennel.
Rich Rodriguez - A spread offensive guru, Rich is considering taking a job at Michigan, but has made his intentions known that he would love the chance to bring his high-profile offense to the NFL.
There are other candidates, in-house coach Emmitt Thomas is one, and there are a few others; but at this point, it's all conjecture. With about ten names to consider, the Falcons have plenty to choose from, but precious little time to decide.
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A look at the Stallions helmet and the new Atlanta Falcons one. A longstanding argument between the San Francisco 49ers and the Birmingham Stallions over the choice of uniforms and color combos appears over.
08-03-2014, 07:46 PM
