Bernstine Advised by Agent to Leave Chargers’ Camp

The agent for tight end Rod Bernstine, the Chargers’ top draft pick, left San Diego without a deal Friday night, and he told Bernstine to get out of town, too.

So Bernstine will miss today’s opening Chargers’ workout. And his agent, Ralph Cindrich of Pittsburgh, didn’t rule out the possibility of a long holdout.

“All I know is I made a long trip (from Pittsburgh) for nothing,” Cindrich said late Friday. “I’m going home. And Rod’s out. I’m getting him out of town. It could be a month, a week, two months, two days. You don’t know.”

In the meantime, the Chargers say they have reached agreements with cornerback Nelson Jones, their No. 5 pick, wide receiver Jamie Holland (No. 7 pick), tackle Joe MacEsker (No. 8), linebacker Ron Brown (No. 9), safety Anthony Anderson (No. 10), center Joe Goebel (No. 11) and running back Marcus Greenwood (No. 12).

Steve Ortmayer, the Chargers’ director of football operations, also said he’s “very, very close” to signing cornerback Louis Brock, their No. 2 pick, and quarterback Mark Vlasic, their No. 4 pick. He said he’s not sure how close he is to signing No. 3 pick, defensive end Karl Wilson of LSU.

Though Bernstine was the 24th player selected in April’s collegiate draft, Cindrich says his client should have been picked much earlier. He claims that Cleveland and Washington covet Bernstine and that Bernstine should be paid accordingly.

The 22nd selection in the draft, offensive lineman Harris Barton of North Carolina, recently signed a three-year, $1.1 million deal with San Francisco, and Cindrich says that’s the kind of money he’s looking for.

“I know Rod’s the 24th (player), but he’s not the 24th best,” Cindrich said Friday. “He’s much higher.”

Ortmayer, who spent approximately four hours with Cindrich Friday, would prefer to treat Bernstine just as he is--the 24th player in the draft.

“I want to pay him what’s fair,” Ortmayer said Friday night.

So here they stand--seemingly far apart.

“There are some other teams that like him,” Cindrich said. “Trade him. I can hold as long as the client can. If it can be a season, it can be a season. If it’s a half a year, it’s half a year. No, Rod isn’t (itchy to report to camp). He knows his ability and his worth. I haven’t kept him in the dark.”

If you want background, Cindrich represented Jets receiver Al Toon when Toon held out for an entire training camp in 1985. And he represented running back Gil (The Thrill) Fenerty, the Saints’ 1986 seventh-round pick who sat out all of last season and who is now playing in Canada.

“It (a holdout) is a drastic move, but my experience has been it always works better,” Cindrich said. “In each case, it worked out.”

At one point Friday night, Cindrich invited Ortmayer to come and negotiate in Pittsburgh.

“I’ll do whatever I have to do to sign Rod,” said Ortmayer, who wants Bernstine to agree to a four-year deal. “I don’t mind going to Pittsburgh or wherever. I told him (Cindrich) I’d spend as much time as he wanted tonight, but what’s the point when they say they won’t take less than a certain amount?

“If that’s how they feel, how much time can you spend? I’m here. I’ll spend as much time as he wants. But what he said, it kind of puts a damper on negotiations.”

With Bernstine gone, Ortmayer said he expects to sign “one or two” extra tight ends today.

Linebacker Chip Banks showed up fashionably late for his press conference Friday, wearing a baseball cap (with palm tree designs on it) and no socks. He has always said he wanted to play pro ball in Southern California, and now here he was--dressing the part.

Banks, however, did admit Friday that the trade from Cleveland to San Diego initially left him stunned, and he says now he considered skipping the entire 1987 season.

And he also says it was Coach Al Saunders who helped straighten him out. Saunders surprised Banks about a month after the draft when he showed up unannounced at Banks’ front door in Atlanta. Banks admits he didn’t even know what Saunders looked like, but he let him inside for a while.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever had a head coach come and visit with me at my home and express the interest he did,” Banks said Friday.

In Cleveland, Banks feuded constantly with Coach Marty Scottenheimer, but Saunders apparently won him over.

“The visit and the conversations over the phone that Coach Saunders gave me were very inspirational and kind of comforted me in a lot of ways,” Banks said. “Not directly or in so many words, it was suggested that I would just take a breather from the league for a year maybe and do some other things. He didn’t put pressure on me either way, and I admired him for being that way.”

Saunders had kept this little visit under his hat until reporters confronted him about it Friday.

“Ah, it’s just something I’d do for any player,” he said. “I feel I’m obligated to the players on the team, to let them know where they stand.”

It was Saunders’ idea alone. He never consulted owner Alex Spanos or Steve Ortmayer, the club’s director of football operations.

“Sometimes you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do,” Saunders said. “It’s the everyday duty that a coach should perform.”

Saunders announced that wide receiver Tim Smith, acquired in April from Houston, has been waived. Smith, who grew up in San Diego, didn’t have the speed the Chargers were looking for, and Saunders wanted to give him an early chance to hook up with another NFL team.

Had Smith made the team, the Chargers would have given the Oilers a future draft choice.