Charger Credo: In Beathard We (Still) Trust : Pro football: Despite 0-5 start, owner, players and the general manager himself still believe in his plan.

OK, smart guy, everyone’s waiting.

Heard all about the success in Miami, know all about the Super Bowls in Washington, so Bobby Beathard, what seems to be the hang-up in San Diego?

It’s been more than a whole year since Alex Spanos hired the Smartest Man in the NFL , and 21 games later, the Chargers’ 6-15 record under Beathard remains dumbfounding.

It really doesn’t take a genius; Steve Ortmayer had never been a general manager, but he took over a 4-12 team and went 10-11 in his first 21 games on the job.

“I thought we were going in the right direction, and I still think in several areas we are,” Beathard said. “So I’m not discouraged; I know what we’re looking to do.”

However, if Ortmayer’s Chargers opened his second season 0-5, do you think he would have been criticized?

If Ortmayer traded the team’s No. 1 pick for a second-round offensive lineman, might the opinion makers have something to say?

If Ortmayer had picked third-round busts such as wide receiver Walter Wilson and linebacker Jeff Mills, spent a second-round choice on a running back they don’t need and traded away Lee Williams, surely, someone would have suggested Ortmayer was still working for the Raiders.

“I don’t think there’s any doubt Bobby’s made mistakes,” said Billy Devaney, the Chargers’ director of player personnel. “All you have to say is Jeff Mills and Walter Wilson. We screwed that up.

“It’s a total team effort. The front office has dropped the ball on occasion, the coaches have dropped the ball on occasion and certainly the players have. This 0-5 record is a total team record. I don’t think anyone’s absolved.

“But Bobby’s going to make some moves and decisions that may not make sense for that time and place. The thing is, I think he’s got a tremendous grasp of the big picture. He has confidence in his abilities, they are tried and true, and he knows we’re on the verge of doing something good.”

Faith in Beathard. Initially, it was that faith in Beathard and his impressive track record that suggested overnight success in San Diego.

“Overnight. You mean walk-on-water stuff. Ha!” Giants General Manager George Young said. “Only way it’s done overnight in this league is if it’s already there. When (Vince) Lombardi went to Green Bay, believe me, there were a lot of people already there.

“Give him credit for lighting the fire, but there were people there. It took me awhile (in New York). I remember signs like, ‘Welcome to the 18th year of the Giants’ five-year rebuilding plan.’ Here’s the problem: Fans are impatient, and you come to them and say it takes patience. But it’s the only way. You can’t Band-Aid it, because it doesn’t hold up.”

Faith in Beathard. These days, it’s that faith in Beathard and his accomplishments that keeps critics quiet and fans hopeful.

“There aren’t any miracle workers in this business,” said Seattle player personnel director Mike Allman. “But I know this, if it can be done, Bobby will get it done.”

He always has. Don’t be fooled by the absent-minded look, the disarming humor or the shorts and jogging shoes. Faith in Beathard; they say he knows what he’s doing.

“There are not many people that would want to accept the challenge,” Allman said. “Look at where Buffalo has been; they had their share of 2-14 seasons. George Young didn’t get it done overnight in New York. Team have to learn how to win, and Bobby knows how to win.”

He was player personnel director for Coach Don Shula when the Dolphins went 17-0 in 1972 and won Super Bowl VII. He has two Super Bowl rings for his work in Miami. Two more for his accomplishments in Washington.

In San Diego, he has a lot of empty seats to fill.

“Everybody thought when they got rid of Billy Joe Tolliver everything was going to turn around here and be great within a week,” said defensive lineman Burt Grossman. “Things take time. People don’t want to hear that, because obviously it’s taking a lot of time around here.”

When Beathard took control in Washington, the Redskins hadn’t experienced a losing season in eight years. In San Diego, it’s been nine years since the team advanced to the playoffs.

“Anybody that has a question about Bobby is looking in the wrong direction,” said linebacker Billy Ray Smith. “If you believe half of what they said about how bad Ortmayer screwed things up here, and half of what they said about how Ron Nay screwed things up here, then Bobby was starting in the red.”

History repeats. It took time in Washington, too. Jack Pardee already had been hired as head coach by the Redskins when Beathard became general manager in 1978. The Redskins dipped to 6-10 in Beathard’s third year in Washington, and Beathard replaced Pardee with Charger assistant coach Joe Gibbs.

“There’s only so far Bobby can take a team and then the rest has to be up to the head coach,” said Paul Attner, senior writer for The Sporting News, who was a reporter covering the Redskins for the Washington Post during Beathard’s early years there. “Gibbs was a great choice, but Beathard sure as hell gave him great ability in the players he provided.

“I always got the feeling he needs to go through turmoil before he gets things turned around. It’s almost the same scenario there that it was here. You had to go through this gut-wrenching last season with Pardee, and then he hired Gibbs.”

Beathard stuck with Coach Dan Henning when he was hired as general manager, and he stayed with him last year. The Chargers are 0-5 in 1991, however, and almost everyone concedes it’s a team with the potential to be more successful.

Beathard has offered no assurances to Henning and staff beyond this season.

“Probably the best thing Bobby ever did for the Redskins, and he did so many damn good things, was hire Joe Gibbs,” said Allman, who was Beathard’s personnel director in Washington. “I know this, too, you got to start with a quarterback.

“I don’t know whether the quarterback they have there now is ready to assume that role. I know that kid can throw it and he’s got some potential. Now how long it’s going to take him to realize it and put it together on the field, who knows.”

Faith in Beathard and his eye for talent. He believes John Friesz can be successful. He wanted Friesz to play last year, but Henning opted to stay with Billy Joe Tolliver.

“I think we have to go this route now with John Friesz,” Beathard said. “I think he’s going to be a good quarterback. I’m not saying that out of any type of an ego thing; I think the guy’s a good prospect, a real good prospect. And I think he’s going to be better than just a good quarterback.”

It will take time for Friesz to develop--time that Henning does not have. Given the circumstances, why didn’t Beathard go and get Henning a quarterback last season? Or, this past off-season?

“Where would we have gone?” Beathard said. “You can say that about a couple of positions and you really feel like your hands are tied. I don’t know where you can get a quarterback.”

Could the Chargers have acquired 49ers quarterback Steve Young this past off-season?

“No way,” Beathard said. “Steve sat right here in the office, and he said it in the papers, that he was told before he came here that the 49ers would match any offer he got. I was never under the impression that we had any chance in the world to get Steve Young.”

Beathard had Joe Theismann at quarterback in Washington. “The players like Friesz; the players didn’t like Theismann until he did something,” Beathard said. “A lot of guys were hoping Theismann would fail.”

Theismann rallied his teammates, and after five consecutive defeats to open Gibbs’ reign as head coach, he spearheaded Washington’s 24-7 victory over the Chicago Bears.

“That was the spark,” Beathard said. “We took after that.”

Faith in Beathard. It tempers the rage burning in Spanos. Without Beathard, Henning probably would have been dismissed already.

“I’ll be damned, I know we’re a better ballclub than how we’re better ballclub than how we’re playing,” Spanos said. “I get devastated; I look to Bobby to give me the answers. I know we’re going to find it, whether it’s this week, next week or next year.

“When Bobby came, he told me not to expect miracles. He said it’s going to take a couple of years, and I understood that. He’s run the ballclub the way he’s wanted to run it. He’s had the freedom to do so, and will continue to have it. As far as I’m concerned, he’s going to bring me that winner. I have all the confidence in the world that he’s going to do it.”

So does Beathard. He’s too self-effacing to point out his own track record, but he will tell you: “Sure, I have a plan. I know it’s going to work. Absolutely. It’s gonna. I just know it.

“I think we’re much better than we first came here. You’re right, our record isn’t better off. That’s disappointing. If you said you can go back to square one when we came here and trade that team for what we have now, there’s no way. I don’t think that team was going anywhere.”

Beathard quickly disbanded that team; of the 47 plays on the roster for the Chargers’ final game in 1989 before Beathard’s arrival, only 15 remain.

“I see the difference in the type of players brought in, not so much for their ability on the field as the type of people they are,” said nose tackle Joe Phillips, one of the survivors. “Ort brought in a lot of crazy guys, like Elvis Patterson and Mike Charles. With this group now they’re more ‘human beings.’

“I see what Bobby’s doing, and I’m of the opinion Rome wasn’t built in a day, but it lasted for over 500 years.”

Laying the foundation for success, though, has become a painstaking process. Beathard fired starting free safety Vencie Glenn last season instead of taking him into training camp to compete with other players. Glenn has two interceptions for the undefeated Saints.

He brought in his own receivers and gave up on Quinn Early, who starts for the undefeated Saints. He released Mills, and he’s contributing to Denver’s 4-1 start. Tolliver was sent to Atlanta for a fifth-round draft pick.

“Certain types of players we like, and certain types we don’t,” Beathard said. “You have to build a solid foundation. You have to get a foundation to the level of the good teams, like Washington, so that when things go wrong, it’s the smaller things that go wrong. It’s not the whole damn foundation crumbling.”

Most of the good teams rely on the draft and stockpiling first-round talent. Not Beathard. In his 12 drafts in Washington, he held onto three of the team’s first-round picks long enough to use them and select Mark May, Darrell Green and Art Monk.

Faith in Beathard. The Chargers’ first-round pick next year--potentially the first pick in the 1992 draft--was sent to Washington for the chance to take the 48th player (Eric Moten) in last year’s draft.

“I thought it was the right thing to do and still believe it because Eric Moten is a good football player,” Beathard said. “I know what people will think: If we have a miserable record, they’re going to say, ‘Gee, wouldn’t you rather have that pick?’

“But when you make those deals, you make those knowing that anything can happen the following year. I think this year will be an invaluable year for Eric Moten. He should come back next year and be one of the real good young offensive lineman in the league. He has that kind of ability. If he had been a bust this year, I’d be the first to say it was a mistake.”

How big of a mistake will it be if the Chargers finish the season winless and pass on the opportunity to select a top-rated quarterback, such as Houston’s David Klingler?

“I would suspect we would get a lot of heat for that,” Beathard said wryly. “Maybe it just means another player not in camp for the Redskins.”

Beathard took Moten because he had him evaluated as a first-round pick. However, he passed on Moten in the second round to take George Thornton, and then passed again to take Eric Bieniemy, although the Chargers have an overload of talent at running back.

“I don’t know that you ever have too many good guys at one position,” Beathard said. “I’d like to see Eric play, but how does he play with Rod Bernstine, Marion Butts and Ronnie Harmon?”

Faith in Beathard. He has shown before that he knows what he’s doing. Next year, Bernstine, Butts and Harmon will be looking for new contracts, and now Bieniemy stands tall as insurance against a training camp holdout. Or a future trade.

Bieniemy understands; he has spoken to Beathard. Many of the players have spoken to Beathard. He listens. He’s a communicator, an attitude guy, a manager who believes a good attitude can make the difference between victory and defeat.

“I like everything I’ve seen in Bobby,” Smith said. “Every off-season it comes out that people are excited about coming to play for Bobby; they flock to successful people who have built successful programs. That’s another whole aspect here to something we didn’t have before.”

Punter John Kidd agreed: “That was a major factor in my coming here. Just look at his track record, and the fact the owner here was willing to turn over the operation to a football guy that was a proven winner.”

So far, however, Beathard’s arrival has produced nothing more than the promise of victory. Another 6-10 finish would be a godsend.

“I’m not smart enough to think of some overnight solution,” Beathard said. “I’m concerned about the long term. I want us to be a perennial contender.”

Faith in Beathard’s reputation: Is there anything else left to bank on?

“When the Redskins went 0-5 to open the 1981 season, Mr. (Jack Kent) Cooke wanted Joe Gibbs’ head and Bobby’s right next to it,” Allman said. “The following year, the team won the Super Bowl.”