Beuerlein’s Opportunities Expand : Pro football: Former Raider/Cowboy/Cardinal quarterback will probably start for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

There’s no doubt about it, Steve Beuerlein has played for the best and the biggest.

There was Al Davis, who treated Beuerlein only slightly better than he treated the city of Irwindale.

There was Jimmy Johnson, who often praised Beuerlein, but played him only when Troy Aikman was unavailable.

There was Buddy Ryan, who treated Beuerlein like . . . well, like Buddy Ryan treats all quarterbacks.

With that behind him, Beuerlein isn’t about to let anything--not even Coach Tom Coughlin’s whip-cracking ways--smudge the luster of his latest fresh start.

Beuerlein, whom Ryan and the Arizona Cardinals gave up on, then gave away, was the first player selected in the expansion draft. He will probably start for the Jacksonville Jaguars in the Hall of Fame game on July 29.

It would be difficult to find a wider grin around any of the NFL training camps.

“This is a chance to re-establish myself as a quality player in this league,” Beuerlein said. “I’m not coming into a situation where a team has been down for a while and is looking for someone to spark them. I’m excited to be here.”

Even if it means a training camp that is so tough that sunglasses are banned from the practice field.

Coughlin’s “my way or the highway style” even affected Beuerlein, who was to be the best man in a friend’s wedding in Orange. Unfortunately, it fell on the day the Jaguars’ camp was scheduled to open.

The friend, graciously, moved his wedding up a day. Beuerlein was in camp on the July 8 opening.

Not a problem, he said.

“I approached coach about the wedding and he said we had a meeting that day and I was expected to be there,” Beuerlein said. “I called my friend and he understood that it was a work situation. I needed to be here from the start.

“The media got ahold of a few things and blew them out of proportion. He’s a demanding coach, that’s his philosophy. When he says curfew is 11, you better be in your room at 11. Rules are rules. He doesn’t bend them. You have your chin strap buttoned from the time you get on the field until you leave.”

Of course, these things seem minor to Beuerlein; consider the egos he has tap-danced around in the past.

From Davis’ doghouse with the Raiders to Aikman’s caddie in Dallas to last season’s stint as Ryan’s whipping boy--it has been a long road.

Arizona, though, was supposed to be Beuerlein’s big break. He had played well in getting the Cowboys to the playoffs in 1991 after Aikman was injured. It was an audition that got him a three-year, $7.5-million deal with the Cardinals in 1993.

Beuerlein threw for 3,164 yards and 18 touchdowns in 1993. Ryan was hired for the following season.

“I don’t think it’s worth going into my feelings about Buddy Ryan,” Beuerlein said. “That would do nothing but bring a smile to his face.”

That’s the common ground Beuerlein shares with Jaguar offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride. Gilbride, former Houston Oiler offensive coordinator, once was punched by Ryan, the team’s defensive coordinator, during a game.

“Kevin and I can both tell a million Buddy Ryan stories,” Beuerlein said. “But we made an agreement from Day 1 that we wouldn’t waste our breath.”

Of course, the Ryan-Gilbride altercation was a peer-vs.-peer confrontation; Beuerlein has suffered through a season with Ryan as his coach.

Beuerlein completed only 18 of 40 passes and had two passes intercepted during a 14-12 loss to the Rams in the opener. For the season, he threw for 1,545 yards and five touchdowns and had nine passes intercepted. He started only seven games and was roughed up more in the media by Ryan than he was on the field.

The Cardinals finished 8-8 and Beuerlein was given the lion’s share of the blame.

“It wasn’t a good situation for me. I was very disappointed, considering the expectations,” Beuerlein said. “I was thrown into a negative situation.”

Then he was thrown out of it.

Beuerlein wasn’t surprised when he was left unprotected for the expansion draft. He may not be wanted in Phoenix, but he was in Jacksonville.

“The first thought that entered my mind was all the horror stories about expansion teams,” said Beuerlein, a graduate of Servite High and Notre Dame. “I was concerned about the makeshift offensive lines and the beating I could take.”

That three offensive linemen were among the Jaguars’ first 10 picks eased those concerns. When they made USC tackle Tony Boselli their first-round draft pick, Beuerlein was downright ecstatic.

The Jaguars also selected quarterbacks Mark Brunell and Andre Ware in the expansion draft, then drafted USC’s Rob Johnson in the fourth round. So Beuerlein won’t be without competition.

Not that he minds. His karma has to improve.

“Last year was just another hurdle to get over,” Beuerlein said. “I’ve learned to live and move on.”