Earlier today, we speculated that heads could (gracefully) roll within 345 Park Avenue now that the dust has settled on the officiating debacle. An informed insider with a feel for the dynamics of the league office points out in response that the upcoming ownership meeting in October could get interesting, on that specific point.
As the source explained, an increasing number of owners are grumbling, and it’ll be the first chance for all owners to get together since the major embarrassment created by the replacement officials. Factoring in the reversal on technical grounds of the bounty suspensions imposed on the players, the owners may decide that someone needs to pay for these circumstances with his or her job.
The Commissioner undoubtedly is safe. Apart from having a contract through the end of the decade, he took the heat for owners who wanted to break the union -- and who gambled (and lost) on third-tier-and-worse replacements. Still, this has the look and feel of a situation in which, once the dust settles, someone is getting fired.
Of course, the NFL doesn’t really fire anyone with a high-profile position. Instead, the person ends up taking a high-profile position with one of the teams. That’s what happened after a “wardrobe malfunction” occurred at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVIII, and it should surprise no one if that happens here.