2011年11月29日星期二

Weaver said Commissioner Roger Goodell supported the sale

Fire Jack Del Rio, who has the Jaguars at 3-8 in his ninth season as coach, and who had made the playoffs twice and won only one postseason game, and install the defensive coordinator Mel Tucker as the interim coach? Check. Extend the contract of General Manager Gene Smith, who like moncler jackets drafted the rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert, whom Del Rio benched in Sunday’s loss to the Texans? Check. And make the stunning announcement that Weaver, the founding owner of the 17-year-old franchise, had sold the team to an auto-parts mogul who was born in Pakistan and had previously tried to buy the St. Louis Rams and who has vowed to keep the Jaguars in Jacksonville? Done. The Jaguars, in the most tumultuous day for the franchise since it was formed in 1995, recast their future and at least for now removed the possibility that they would move to Los Angeles, which hopes to lure at least one team to a new stadium that has yet to be built. Weaver had long maintained publicly that he would not sell the team, which struggled to fill its stadium and which repeatedly avoided local television blackouts only with the help of tarps covering large swaths of seats. But on Tuesday, Weaver sold the Jaguars to Shahid Khan, who emigrated from Pakistan as a teenager, made his fortune in an Illinois-based auto parts company called Flex-N-Gate and had tried to buy the Rams last year before Stan Kroenke exercised his right to match his offer. Forbes magazine recently listed the Jaguars as the least valuable N.F.L. team, at $725 million. The magazine reported Tuesday that Khan paid $760 million for the team. Weaver said Commissioner Roger Goodell supported the sale, an indication that concerns about Khan’s financial and tax situation, raised during his pursuit of the Rams, had been resolved and that the sale would probably be approved by owners. “This gentleman is absolutely the American story,” Weaver said of Khan, 61. Weaver, who became emotional when discussing the deal, also sought to temper speculation that the team’s sale might mean it would soon be moving. Weaver said Khan first inquired about a minority interest in the Jaguars five years ago about Men - moncler jackets and came back a year ago seeking to buy the team. Weaver said his criteria for a new owner was to find someone whose passion for football in Jacksonville matched his. With the Jaguars apparently staying put, the San Diego Chargers, who are seeking a new stadium, are now the most likely team to move to Los Angeles. “If the proposed transaction is approved in the weeks ahead, I will responsibly and enthusiastically serve the N.F.L., the Jacksonville Jaguars and their great fans, and I will be fully committed to delivering Jacksonville its first Super Bowl championship,” Khan said in a statement. “This is a franchise with tons of potential, playing in a community that is passionate about football and loves to win. I can’t think of a better place to be.” Khan will have to make a huge decision almost immediately: hiring a new coach. Del Rio was the first N.F.L. coach to be fired this season, and while the move was expected, Weaver acknowledged that the timing was awkward because of the concurrent announcement of the team’s sale. COLTS MAKE CHANGES Indianapolis fired its defensive coordinator, Larry Coyer,cheap moncler jackets for women and announced that quarterback Dan Orlovsky would make his first N.F.L. start since 2008. The changes came after the Colts dropped to 0-11 for the first time since 1986.

没有评论:

发表评论