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Bowing out Chargers' Beathard reportedly to announce retirement
Posted: Tuesday April 25, 2000 09:07 AM
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- San Diego Chargers general manager Bobby Beathard likely will announce his retirement after this weekend's minicamp, a team source told The Associated Press on Monday. Beathard, 63, has been considering retirement for several weeks, and all signs have been pointing to him ending a 37-year NFL career in which he built Super Bowl teams on both coasts. He also often left fans flabbergasted with his draft-day gambling. Speculation has been so strong about Beathard's future that it would be a shock if he chose to stay on. Beathard was having second thoughts, said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity. But when asked if he thought Beathard was going to retire for sure, the source said: "I believe so." The original plan was for Beathard to announce his retirement during the minicamp, so that team president Dean Spanos could explain the order of succession to the team, the source said. The plan now is for the announcement to be made next week. "In any event, it sounds like in the next 7-10 days something will happen," the source said. ESPN.com reported Monday that Beathard would announce his retirement next week. It did not cite a source. Beathard, who has been heavily criticized for his player acquisitions the last several years, is under contract through the 2001 season. Before and during the draft on April 15-16, Beathard said nothing to dispel rumors he was retiring. He said then he would meet with Spanos after the minicamp. "You get all pumped up and excited about this because of the draft and everything. Now you do it and you want to see what they look like," he said after the draft concluded. "I'll probably go through minicamp and see. "Looking on the other side, it's exciting thinking about doing it," he said, referring to retiring. "They both are. I go back and forth." Beathard, who's been with the Chargers for 10 years, didn't return a phone call seeking comment. A team spokesman said Beathard still planned to sit down with Spanos after minicamp. Beathard likes the direction the Chargers are headed under coach Mike Riley, who led them to an 8-8 record last season, so he would have little trouble stepping aside now. If Beathard goes through with his retirement plans, Spanos wants an organizer/administrator at the top, the source said. Ed McGuire, the coordinator of football operations who handles contract negotiations, would keep that role, probably with a vice president's title, the source said. Billy Devaney, the director of player personnel, would make the decisions on player moves. There had been speculation Riley would be involved in the power structure, but he likely would stick to coaching, the source said. McGuire and Spanos didn't return phone calls, and Devaney and Riley declined comment. Beathard was associated with seven Super Bowl teams in his career, starting when he was a scout for the 1966 Kansas City Chiefs and continuing with the 1972 and '73 Miami Dolphins, for whom he was director of player personnel. He built three Super Bowl teams as GM of the Washington Redskins, winning two, then put together San Diego's only Super Bowl team, in 1994. That team was routed 49-26 by the San Francisco 49ers, and the Chargers have been back to the playoffs only once since then.
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