Las Vegas’ XFL management group may have NFL flavor

Steve Addy

Wednesday, Aug. 2, 2000 | 10:36 a.m.

The new XFL has begun to fill its management and coaching jobs. Here is a list of who has been hired:

Birmingham -- GM Tim Berryman, coach Gerry DiNardo, player personnel director Bob Gates Chicago -- GM Ken Valdiserri, coach Dick Butkus

Las Vegas -- Hirings expected next week

Los Angeles -- GM J.K. McKay

Memphis -- GM Steve Ehrhart, player personnel director Steve Ortmayer

New York -- Franchise not formally announced

Orlando -- GM Tom Veit San Jose -- No hirings

Vince McMahon rarely says anything nice about the NFL, especially management types, but that isn't keeping the WWF co-founder from raiding the league to stock his fledgling XFL.

Two such raids could result in Jim Criner being named coach and Bob Ackles general manager of the Las Vegas XFL franchise, informed sources told the Sun.

Criner, 60, has spent the last six years as coach of the Scottish Claymores of NFL Europe, leading the team to the 1996 World Bowl championship and the runner-up spot this year. The ex-Iowa State head coach has guided the Glasgow-based club to a 43-47 record since 1995.

Ackles, 61, has been the Miami Dolphins' director of football operations since 1996, adding to a 14-year NFL resume that includes helping to build the Cowboys into Super Bowl champions in 1992 and '93. He was Dallas' vice president of player personnel from 1986-92.

Ackles said he has had "conversations" about the GM's job, and one source said it has been offered. There was no indication that Criner has been offered the coaching job, but he is known to have interviewed with Mike Keller, XFL director of football operations.

The league hopes to announce hirings for both jobs next week, said Rich Rose, XFL senior consultant for special projects.

"A signing is imminent (for GM)," he said. "We've talked to a couple of people. We will have a GM and a coach by next week. That would be my bet."

A player personnel director will also be hired, but that could occur after next week.

The XFL, a joint venture between WWF Entertainment and NBC-TV, will begin its first season on Feb. 3. The eight-team league will play a 10-game regular season, and the Las Vegas team will have its home games at Sam Boyd Stadium.

All of the franchises are owned by the league, with the other teams placed in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Jose, Orlando, Memphis and Birmingham, Ala. No team names have been assigned -- that will occur by September -- and player allocation will be done in October.

Like the players, all coaches and front-office personnel will be hired by the league and distributed among the teams. Five teams have been assigned GMs and two have coaches -- NFL legend Dick Butkus in Chicago and ex-LSU coach Jerry DiNardo in Birmingham. Former Florida coach Galen Hall, whose Rhein Fire won the 2000 World Bowl, is favored for the Orlando job.

Las Vegas, San Jose and New York are the only teams that haven't made any hires. New York, in fact, has yet to be officially announced as a franchise.

Though Ackles appears the clear-cut choice to run the Las Vegas franchise, the league also phoned Las Vegas Stars president-GM Don Logan about the job.

"They wondered if I would be interested, but I told them I wasn't," Logan said. "I am a baseball guy. That is what I know. But I gave them some names of people I thought could do a good job."

Ackles wouldn't indicate his level of interest in the job.

"I had a couple of conversations (with Keller and XFL VP Billy Hicks) last week," Ackles said from Miami. "That is all I want to say about it now. (The job) is just one situation that has arisen. They indicated they would like to do something as soon as possible."

The Ontario-born Ackles spent 32 years with the B.C. Lions of the Canadian Football League after becoming water boy when he was 15, eventually serving as GM. He went to the Cowboys in 1986, then became the Arizona Cardinals' assistant GM in 1992 for three years. After one year as Philadelphia's director of administration in 1995, he was hired by the Dolphins.

Criner, a teammate of John Madden at Cal Poly Pomona, has coached all over the map.

He had an outstanding coaching career at Boise State from 1976-82, win four Big Sky championships and a Division I-AA national title in 1980. He was head coach at Iowa State (1983-86) and UC-Davis (1986-89), Birmingham of the International League of American Football (1990), and Sacramento of the World League (1991-92). The latter won the WLAF title in 1992.

Criner's Scottish club was 6-4 this season, losing the World Bowl to Rhein 13-10.