SUPER BOWL XXVII : Cantankerous Cowboy : Charles Haley Prefers Chasing Quarterbacks to Dealing With Hordes of Reporters

Nice assignment. Interview Dallas defensive end Charles Haley, and by the way, he doesn’t like to talk with the media.

“Wrote a whole story about him two weeks ago and got one quote from Charles: ‘Get out of my face,’ ” said Ira Miller, who covers the 49ers for the San Francisco Chronicle.

Tuesday morning, Dodger Stadium, 15 rows up between home plate and third base. A posted sign indicated that Charles Haley, the relentless pass rusher with the belligerent personality, would be available for intimate conversation.

“This is the highlight of my whole career,” Haley said upon arrival. No snarl. No obscenities. Nothing at all like his press clippings.

First question, however, was tossed softly: Tell us something about the two other Super Bowls you played in.

“Let’s see, the first Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXIII) was a spectacular finish with Joe (Montana) driving the length of the field and J.T. (John Taylor) making a great catch in the end zone. The second Super Bowl (Super Bowl XXIV) was the Jerry Rice Show.

“And this Super Bowl is just going to be a team show. . . . I think of all of them, this is going to be the one I cherish the most.”

Pretty tame stuff, and so it went.

How about your relationship with your teammates?

“I want the guys to know that when I line up on Sunday that they are going to get 100% every play,” he said, “and that they (can) count on me.”

Easy-going questions, smiling responses. How about playing golf some time?

“I’m just happy that when I got traded, I got traded to a quality team and they gave me the opportunity to go in and help the guys.”

What’s wrong in San Francisco? What about these stories that are told about problems with teammates and coaches? Temper tantrums with management?

“Next question,” Haley said.

Could you explain how much easier it is playing when you are happier, as you are in Dallas as opposed to San Francisco?

“No,” he said. “I’m not even going to talk about that. Next question.”

But those wild stories:

--Using the steering wheel on teammate Tim Harris’ $50,000 BMW 733i as a urinal, thereby igniting a tussle with Harris.

--Fighting teammate Jim Burt twice, including two days before Super Bowl XXIV in the team’s hotel.

--Allegedly exposing himself to a female reporter, prompting management to demand his apology.

--Punching a hole in the wall in the 49ers’ locker room last season after losing to the Raiders and former teammate Ronnie Lott.

--Openly criticizing 49er Coach George Seifert for showing his defenders videotape of the Eagles’ defense and praising its performance.

--Telling Seifert to take a jump, although in stronger fashion.

Are these reports accurate?

“Next question,” Haley said.

The 49ers relied on the gifted athlete for six tempestuous years and were the beneficiaries of 63 sacks. But even in the quest to advance to the Super Bowl, enough is enough, when Charles Haley persists in being Charles Haley.

After being traded from San Francisco to Dallas in August for a No. 2 draft pick this year and a No. 3 in 1994, 49er President Carmen Policy offered an explanation: Haley has an “attitude problem.”

Policy told the Dallas Morning News at the time of the deal: “Our team history is of being very tolerant, of being willing to put up with personalities different from the norm. But it became apparent this personality was not only different, it was becoming larger than the team itself.”

Unidentified players took swipes at Haley after his departure from San Francisco, while others questioned the need for his arrival in Dallas.

“I know how the media can exploit things, and a lot of stuff is from hearsay,” Haley said. “A lot of guys don’t like me, because if I voice my opinion and my opinion is not what they want, then they don’t like me. I gotta be Charles, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Why do people have trouble with you voicing your opinion?

“Maybe because I got too many opinions,” Haley said.

Time to lighten things up. What are your fond memories of San Francisco?

“Next question,” he said. “OK, men, that’s enough. Thank you all. We did good today. Don’t you all love America?”

And he was gone, while others had hardly begun. One section over, Cowboy owner Jerry Jones continued to hold court for the next 45 minutes. So did running back Emmitt Smith, wide receiver Michael Irvin, Coach Jimmy Johnson and the rest of the team.

Dallas defensive lineman Jim Jeffcoat, his attention drawn to Haley’s vacated media area, said: “That’s just Charles. We expect that.”

Learn to live with Haley--that has been the Cowboys’ plan for survival this season, and it has been an uplifting experience. Haley had six sacks, a team-high 42 quarterback pressures, and the Cowboys ranked No. 1 in defense while arriving as the favorites to win Super Bowl XXVII.

“We heard a lot of horror stories before he came over,” Dallas linebacker Ken Norton said. “But he hasn’t been as bad as those horror stories. I think his reputation was a lot worse than he is.”

It helps, too, to ignore him.

“You hear one of his conversations, and the first thing you say is, ‘The guy is crazy,’ ” Cowboy defensive lineman Tony Casillas said. “That’s just the way Charles is. You have to take what he says and let it go in one ear and out the other.”

Haley is a linebacker who plays like a defensive end. In San Francisco, they combined his skill at both positions and produced their “Elephant” defense. In Dallas, he is on the prowl for the sack.

“There are just players that you enjoy watching play, and I’ve really enjoyed watching Charles,” Johnson said. “He can without question disrupt an offense.”

So far, that is all he has disrupted in Dallas, and the Cowboys are one happy family.

“This is the kind of player every defense needs to turn the corner,” defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt said. “He’s a seek-and-destroy guy.”

While Casillas & Co. stood in their assigned areas to accommodate the media, Haley returned to the visitors’ dressing room at Dodger Stadium and removed his jersey.

He returned to the field to spend the next half-hour visiting with Mike Ornstein, a former Raider front-office employee now with NFL Properties.

“He’s so misunderstood,” Ornstein said after his one-on-one chat with Haley.

“This is a smart guy. He’s got all his money. . . . He’s got more money put away than any player I know. He likes to clown around, but he just doesn’t like the media attention.”

No, he doesn’t, but he can be playful. When CBS Radio’s Jim Hunter walked by at the end of the media session, Haley borrowed his microphone and began interviewing Norton.

“He just wanted to have a little fun,” Hunter said. “He said, ‘Hey, I want to play cub reporter.’ ”

After asking Norton a series of questions, Haley caught quarterback Troy Aikman’s attention and said: “Troy, Troy, I want you for an interview. Come on.”

He reached a hand out to Aikman. “Troy, Troy. An interview?”

Tough assignment, because Aikman kept on walking, stopping only to look back at Haley and shake his head no.

Next question?

“I guess he didn’t want to talk,” Haley said, unloading the microphone. “I understand.”