NFL Embraces Al Davis--The Accord of Kaanapali?

Peacocks wander through the lobby of the NFL’s hotel headquarters. Above the rustle of the swaying palms is heard an entirely new sound, the billing and cooing of . . . Pete Rozelle and Al Davis?

You’ve got it. Mr. Establishment seems to be making overtures toward ending hostilities with the pirate chieftain. If Davis hasn’t exactly swooned with delight or volunteered to kneel and kiss the ring, he doesn’t seem to be turning his commissioner down, either.

Thus, instead of the feud that has defined the NFL in the ‘80s, we’ve got “Lassie Come Home.”

“I think the chill is gone,” said Cleveland Browns’ owner Art Modell Tuesday. “The ice is broken. I think there’s a chance for Al to come home.

“I have never had a better sense of the relationship between the two men than we had today in open session. There seemed to be a sense of conciliation, an appreciation for the other’s position that I hadn’t experienced since the Raider case, or even before then. Today, I saw what seemed to be a sharp, sharp improvement.”

Just to show where they’re coming from, it was only a couple of years ago that Davis called Modell, a known ally of Rozelle, “a pack runner . . . (who) couldn’t operate if he didn’t run in the pack.”

And as recently as last spring, Davis, who was about to testify against the NFL for the USFL, was cold-shouldered by his fellow owners at a New York meeting.

A lot of tears have flowed under the bridge since then, mostly Davis’. The NFL survived the USFL. In one year, Davis seemed to lose in every courtroom in the land except Judge Wapner’s. His team dropped out of the playoffs. He ran into trouble with the Coliseum Commission.

Perhaps the NFL has figured out a suitable contribution he could make? Negotiations are about to start with the NFL Players Assn., which is headed by former Raider Gene Upshaw.

Are Davis and Upshaw close? Upshaw is going into the Hall of Fame this summer--it must be a coincidence--and has asked Davis to be his presenter.

Could the league be hoping that Davis might serve as a moderating force on the union?

“There’s no question that (Davis’) feelings would be welcomed on any collective bargaining issue,” Modell said.

For his part, Davis seems to be determinedly not rocking the boat. He praised the meetings and said he’d vote with the majority on instant replay. He was said to voice private reservations about the new TV package but said nothing in public.

He even voted for it, or instructed Al LoCasale to, since it came up before Davis arrived.

The NFL office sat up. The last vote on sharing cable TV money was 27-0 with Davis abstaining. He has long since given the league reason to watch his abstentions. After one on a vote about moving franchises, he moved his franchise.

“LoCasale had his marching orders,” said Modell on Sunday, reporting the 28-0 vote. “This, I hope, is a major step toward bringing Al back in the family.”

That might not be easy, someone said.

“It’s not easy,” Modell said, laughing. “I don’t know whether it’s the Lucchesi family or the Gambino family. It’s not easy to forget his testifying against us for a billion-six (in the USFL trial). That would have broken the Modell family.”

All kidding aside, folks . . .

“Nobody,” said Modell Tuesday, “with the exception perhaps of Wellington Mara and maybe the Rooneys made more calls to my wife when I was in intensive care (after a heart attack in 1983) than Al Davis. There’s a very warm, family-oriented side of Al Davis.

“I saw him at lunch here and I made it a point of going over and welcoming him to the meetings. He was very responsive. We talked about some of the things that were being kicked around. I saw him yesterday and asked his advice about a resolution and he asked mine.”

Of course, Davis’ suit against the NFL continues. Modell even concedes that it must inevitably run its course.

“That should have no effect on the current relationship,” Modell said. “I don’t think that should deter us from turning the page in the book of life, in the NFL’s book of life.”

Of course, there could be myriad effects of a cease-fire, or a peace. The Coliseum’s bid for the 1991 Super Bowl might be viewed in a more favorable light, for one thing.

There has been speculation that the Coliseum’s being picked as a finalist might be part of a peace overture. Philadelphia Eagle owner Norman Braman, who headed the committee, denies that.

“It had nothing to do with Al Davis,” Braman said. “Al Davis’ name didn’t come up in our hearings.”

Modell said: “There has been no arrangement. Logic dictates that for the 25th anniversary, we might want to come back to the place where we started out. But that’s not my department.”