RAMS ’90 : Q&A; WITH QUARTERBACK JIM EVERETT

Ram quarterback Jim Everett is 27 years old. He’s rich, famous and talented. He has everything, really, except the one thing he most desires’s Super Bowl ring.

No one has thrown more touchdown passes the last two seasons than Everett and the Rams, who gear up for another chase of the four-time Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers.

With Montana out of the picture, Everett’s life might be perfect. Or would it?

In a recent interview with Times Staff Writer Chris Dufresne, Everett discusses life near the top in the NFC’s Western Division.

Question: Let’s get right to Joe Montana. Two months after the 49ers humiliated the Rams in the NFC title game, Montana gets permission to use Rams Park--your turf--to film a commercial. Later, he flies down from the Bay Area to accept an endorsement deal with the sports apparel company, L.A. Gear. If you guys ever win the Super Bowl, will you fly up to his turf and sign a deal with S.F. Gear?

Answer: In general, Joe deserves everything he’s getting. I’m the first to say great job for him. I felt they were a good team. I felt we were a good team. They have continuously been good for a while so they’re called great. You have to prove greatness, and that’s the way it should be. There’s such a reward to do good, and second-best, I don’t think, should bring satisfaction to anybody except for losers, and we don’t have losers.

Q : So you’re saying the Rams are going to the Super Bowl in 1990?

A: You have to be able to back up your talk. We feel with the things we’re doing, and the type of environment coach Robinson put us in that, barring injury, and having good luck--all those things that help you win more ball games--we have a good enough nucleus, good enough talent, and enough will power to be more successful than last year. And that would mean the Super Bowl.

Q: What do you really think of Joe Montana?

A: He’s sporting a lot of Super Bowl rings (four), and that’s what the game’s all about. One guy helps make a difference, but the 49ers have very good talent and played extremely well together last year. As good as Joe ever wants to be, he can’t do it alone. He’s got Ronnie Lott with him, Roger Craig and Jerry Rice. Now, they are in our way, no doubt about that. A combination of all of them. But the most we can do is worry about ourselves.

Q: There has been a lot of discussion about the six-year, $14 million contract you signed last January. Sure, you’ll never eat TV dinners again, but since you’ve signed, two quarterbacks, Jim Kelly and Montana, have signed for more money. Others, no doubt, will follow. Why didn’t you play out your option and at least accept offer sheets from other teams for perhaps $3 million per year, forcing the Rams to match the offer to keep you?

A: To make a long story short, the L.A. Rams came and got me out of Houston. The environment here is good for Jim Everett. They came to me with a contract offer that is by no means for me outdated. I’m very secure financially where I’m at. I’m here playing with what I think is the best football team, with great people. Why would I want to go?

Q: But what player in his right mind these days doesn’t test an open market? It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance. The Rams have certainly taken advantage of players in the past. Why didn’t you return the favor?

A: Here, you’re asking a guy in his 20s to be, obviously, a millionaire, to have a great place to throw, nice fans. I have the best receivers in the league, one of best offensive lines. It would be foolish. I don’t want to go.

Q: So you’re saying you wouldn’t feel right testing the market if you weren’t actually prepared to leave?

A: I didn’t want to jeopardize the things we have going for my personal interests. Hey, I’m in this for the long haul. The money thing was not as much a factor as my peace of mind and, security, not only financial, but the security that this team will be a winner for a long time. It’s the place I want to be.

Q: It’s obvious you’re more famous now. Kids were lining up 20-yards deep for your autograph after training camp practices at UC Irvine. Yet, you patiently waded your way through the masses, not seeming the least bit bothered. Were you?

A: I don’t mind at all. I’m 27, but it seems like only yesterday when I was 10, and if I came out to practice and was in awe of people, I would have loved for them to take the time to sign an autograph for me.

Q: But this is the age of the $20 autograph. What would Jose Canseco think?

A: Two thoughts on Jose Canseco. Jose’s only going to be in this position for a few years in his life. More power to him to take advantage. On the other hand, there are a lot of kids looking up to him, and he’s setting standards for those kids and their dreams. Jose’s taking care of Jose, fine, but there’s a lot of other things he’s affecting, and I don’t know if he’s taking that into consideration.

Q: Would you ever charge for an autograph?

A: I would never want to do that. Now there’s card shows, and the card-show thing is for collectors. Collectors want autographs. But any kid that wants my autograph when I’m in public or I’m at practice, I’m going to do it.

Q: You were pretty close to Carl Ekern. You hunted and fished together. How did his death on Aug. 1 affect you?

A: It makes you take a deep breath. It’s so amazing how we take things for granted sometimes. We just plow through life. When Carl passed, I stood back and said, ‘Here’s a guy who kicks life’s butt.’ He was after it. He had fun. He lived a full life and enjoyed it. It made me think, I’ve got to appreciate the things I’m doing. You’ve got people putting you on a pedestal, good and bad. You got a lot more money than you’d every thought you’d have. But it’s not the materialist things that make you happy. You can get caught up in the things day to day, almost to the point where you think you’re immortal. But it ain’t like that at all. I’m here temporarily, and I’m going to have a great time.

Q: You’ve done a lot of charity work people don’t even know about. The Jim Everett Foundation, which was your idea, is a broad-based concept that covers many issues that face Orange County. Why didn’t you just throw the token celebrity golf tournament and leave it at that?

A: When I first came here, everyone had a golf tournament. Our whole goal is to help children and the underprivileged. And we want to be able to help in a split second. Ninety-eight percent of the money that goes into my charity goes back out. I’m not attaching anything to it. It’s my deal. I just want to be the igniter, to get things rolling. For example, there was the lady whose four-month old child died, she had no money for a funeral. Boom, we can come in right now.

Q: How do you decide who to help?

A: United Way helps out. They’ll say, ‘We don’t have any way to help out with this situation, can you help? ‘ And we’ll say, ‘Heck, yeah, we can do that.’ I have a board of directors of six guys, and they’ll send me articles in the paper, and I’ll make a decision. We have meetings three or four times a year. We’re helping some homeless people, homeless people with children. All I’m doing is helping people that can’t help themselves at the moment, and that might have an effect on some kids.

Q: What’s the next goal you’ve set for yourself?

A: To help this team get a Super Bowl. I think we’ve done some good things in the past. I think we’ve built every year. I really think we have the talent. I think personally I’ve developed as a quarterback. I hope I can take advantage and help put this team in a position for the Super Bowl. That’s how I feel.