Is Beathard Really a Loser? (No Coaching Here, Please)

NFL winners, losers and question marks:

Loser: Bobby Beathard.

When he arrived in San Diego, he was one of the league’s best-liked and most-respected talent evaluators. He’s still liked.

His reputation as the architect of great teams, however, is suspect. It’s not only that he traded so much in order to draft Ryan Leaf. If critics of that deal are truthful, most will tell you they would have done the same thing at the time. Other moves Beathard has made, as hard as it might be to believe, have been worse.

Now, some of the same people who gave Beathard credit for helping build the Miami Dolphins and building the Washington Redskins are wondering whether he would have seemed so smart if those teams hadn’t been coached by Don Shula and Joe Gibbs.

San Diego’s owners, Alex and Dean Spanos, also have to wonder if they made the right choice in the battle of the Bobbys--Beathard and Ross--two years after the Chargers went to the Super Bowl.

Winner: Bobby Ross.

He doesn’t look or sound much like a great head coach. Some of his tactics, such as the bewildering decision to go for two points late against Arizona, seem to confirm it.

But not only did he make the Lions believe they are better without Barry Sanders, they are better. If they make the playoffs, it’s a coaching job for the ages.

Question mark: Leaf.

I wanted to write loser, but, like the Chargers, I can’t quite give up on him.

Although it seemed debatable on draft day, Peyton Manning was the better choice and, in his second season, is already having an MVP-type season.

But some personnel guys still insist, as long as you promise not to name them, that Leaf is superior from the head down. Maybe he, like Jeff George, merely needs a decade to mature. If the Chargers made him available, there would be takers.

Leaf’s apology Monday seemed more sincere than his previous ones, but I would have trusted it more if he had dropped the grievance against the Chargers that he filed with the players’ association.

Winner: Bill Polian.

He’s the new Beathard, the genius du jour credited for building the Carolina Panthers and rebuilding the Indianapolis Colts.

He’s not as beloved in Carolina now that it’s apparent he didn’t leave behind the firmest of foundations, but, on the other hand, it’s not likely anyone will look back and say the Panthers had the success that they did because of Dom Capers’ coaching.

As for the Colts, Polian got lucky when he fell into the first choice of the 1998 draft. But while almost everyone else was wondering which quarterback he would take, he decided early on Manning and never wavered.

OK, so that seems easy now. But you can’t say the same thing for Edgerrin James over Ricky Williams in this year’s draft, and Polian made that choice too.

Winner: Jim Mora.

Give him some credit for the Colts too. I’m not sure where the idea started that he can’t coach, but his record in 11 seasons with the New Orleans Saints was 93-74. I’m not sure Mike Holmgren could have done that well. Or Vince Lombardi. Mike Ditka certainly hasn’t.

Even some who appreciated Mora’s solid defenses in New Orleans questioned whether he was creative enough for a team with offensive stars such as Manning, James and wide receiver Marvin Harrison.

Answer: The Colts are third in the league in scoring, and only the Rams gain more yards per play.

Loser: Kordell Stewart.

Former Pittsburgh offensive coordinator Ray Sherman looked as though he might have deserved the blame for Stewart’s play last season, especially after Sherman became the Minnesota Vikings’ offensive coordinator this season and they floundered early.

But after the Viking quarterback change, from Randall Cunningham to George, Sherman’s reputation has been rehabilitated.

Meantime, the Steelers’ new offensive coordinator, Kevin Gilbride, has had no more success with Stewart. As Charger fans who suffered through Gilbride’s tenure as head coach can tell you, it could be him. But evidence is mounting that the problem with Stewart is Stewart.

Winner: Arena Football League.

If Kurt Warner, a former Iowa Barnstormer, hasn’t already given the league legitimacy, more NFL teams are seeking tie-ins with the AFL. The Saints have already committed; the Lions are announcing today. Now comes word that Redskin owner Daniel Snyder wants in, to be followed soon by the Browns, Jaguars and Eagles.

Maybe the L.A. Avengers’ Casey Wasserman will become the first to go the other way, an AFL owner who brings an NFL team to town.

Question mark: Cade McNown.

If you saw Louisiana Tech this season, before the Bulldogs played USC, that’s the offense the Chicago Bears would like to run. Their offensive coordinator is Gary Crowton, formerly Louisiana Tech’s head coach.

The question in Chicago is whether McNown will become the right quarterback for it. But Bear officials were more optimistic than ever after their third-string quarterback, Jim Miller, threw for more than 400 yards in one game. “Cade,” one said, “would have thrown for 500.”

Winner: Stephen Davis.

Skip Hicks was the Redskins’ starting tailback when training camp opened, but Davis outworked him. The Redskins rewarded him by giving him the starting job and he rewarded them by leading the league in rushing.

Loser: ABC.

The 49ers aren’t the only organization lamenting the loss of Steve Young. Network executives had to like it when they saw the “Monday Night Football” matchup between San Francisco and Green Bay. Then the Packers entered the game at 5-5, the 49ers at 3-7. It gets worse. The final “MNF” game of the season matches the 49ers and Atlanta Falcons.

Randy Harvey can be reached at his e-mail address: randy.harvey@latimes.com