Chargers Will Chase Beathard; Anderson to Sit
Charger owner Alex Spanos said he is going to “make an effort to hire” Bobby Beathard, who has resigned as general manager of the Washington Redskins.
Spanos said he discussed his desire to obtain Beathard with Steve Ortmayer, his director of football operations, on Friday. “They (Ortmayer and Beathard) are close friends,” Spanos said.
Asked what position Beathard might fill for the Chargers, Spanos said, “We have no idea. We have not discussed that. We agree he can help the Chargers.”
It also was learned Friday that Gary Anderson, the Chargers’ most valuable offensive player last season, will not take part in workouts Monday when Coach Dan Henning’s first mini-camp opens at the team’s San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium practice facility.
Anderson’s contract expired Feb. 1, and negotiations on a new one “haven’t moved off dead center,” said Ralph Cindrich, one of Anderson’s agents.
Peter Johnson, Anderson’s other agent, said Friday he advised Anderson not to participate in the workouts. “There’s always the chance of injury,” Johnson said. Johnson said Anderson would submit to the requisite physical examination and attend all meetings and practices.
“He just won’t put a helmet on. And he won’t go through the drills,” Johnson said.
Anderson, 28, had his best year in the NFL last year. He finished with 1,119 yards rushing on 225 attempts for a 5.0 average and three touchdowns. Only two AFC backs--the Colts’ Eric Dickerson and the Patriots’ John Stephens--rushed for more.
Running behind an offensive line composed of four free agents and a fourth-round rookie, Anderson rushed for 387 total yards in the final two games, both Charger victories. His base salary in 1988 was $400,000.
The news that Anderson won’t participate in workouts wasn’t a surprise to Henning. The coach said Thursday he would be “naive” to expect all the unsigned players to be at the mini-camp, which will end Friday.
“I think if it was up to the players themselves, they’d be here,” he said. “But then agents get involved. An agent never has to come in here and look the other players in the eye. All he (the agent) is looking for is leverage for the contract business.”
Other unsigned Charger veterans include running back Curtis Adams, kicker Vince Abbott, linebacker Keith Browner, defensive back Leonard Coleman, wide receiver Jamie Holland, running back Lionel James and defensive lineman Tyrone Keys.
The Chargers won’t know for sure until Monday which, if any, players will elect to do the same as Anderson. But Henning warned, “If you want to use leverage (the relative freedom of being unsigned), you have to take the possible consequences, which means you might miss out. And depending on your situation, you have to put a dollar value on how badly you want to be in San Diego and how badly somebody else is after your services.”
As for Beathard, Spanos said that the two “became close” in 1986 when Beathard’s last contract with the Redskins expired.
The Washington Post said that at that time, Spanos made Beathard a standing offer to join the team whenever he wished. “I never made that statement publicly,” Spanos said. “But he has always been aware of our interests.”
Beathard owns a home in Leucadia, and his parents live in Oceanside.
“It’s been my life’s dream to live on the water,” he said Friday.
Beathard is widely recognized around the NFL as one of the its hardest working personnel men and most shrewd judges of talent. He was a driving force behind Washington winning two of the past seven Super Bowls. The Redskins will replace him with assistant general manager Charley Casserly.
“We can’t believe he’s leaving,” said Spanos, who called it “the biggest shock of shocks.”
“I don’t know what the hell would make him leave. By God, they claim he’s the best,” Spanos said.
Beathard told the Post that his preference would be to sit out of the NFL for a year.
“I’m not interested in talking with anybody right now . . . That’s been the furthest thing from my mind, talking to other teams,” he said.
He added that no teams have called to inquire about his status.