NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue announced Monday that he would be stepping down after 17 years, effective this July. Along with Roger Goodell, the league's chief operating officer, and Baltimore Ravens president Dick Cass, McKay is viewed as an early favorite for pro football's most powerful post.
"We're losing a giant and we've got to find a giant to replace him," Falcons owner Arthur Blank said of Tagliabue.
"From our perspective, we want to have Rich stay in Atlanta," Blank said. "He's a superlative president and GM. I love working with him. He's a critical part of our organization. If Rich decided this was the right thing to do for himself and the other owners felt they wanted Rich, I would be supportive of it."
All 32 team owners and high-ranking officials will stage a nominating process at the league meetings, which start next week, in Orlando. Blank and McKay will be at those meetings. It has yet to be determined if a successor would be finalized then.
McKay, 47, who has been with the Falcons since 2003, was not available for comment but said last week in an interview with the Journal-Constitution, "I struggle enough to keep my present day job to worry about another job."
A lawyer with a polished public persona, a strong track record of personnel decisions with Tampa Bay and the Falcons, and a pedigree passed down from his father, John, McKay was appointed to co-chair the NFL's competition committee by Tagliabue in 1998.
He also is a member of the owner's committee for diversity in the workplace. At the request of Tagliabue and some league owners, McKay helped in the difficult negotiations of the most recent collective bargaining extension.
"There's no question that Rich, given his experience on the competition committee, his leadership in the league and roots and experience in the game, is well thought of," Blank said.
"Having said that, the league has to go through a process, and I think, as important as anything, is that it's a personal process that Rich and [wife] Terrin and their family would have to make. It's a major commitment.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2006/3/113994