Firm decision in NFL

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Finding a replacement for NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue will be as much a political job as a business decision, and the first indication of that was Tagliabue's announcement that he would not appoint a search committee of owners this week, as originally expected.

Eventually Tagliabue will do so, but he has agreed with the suggestion of Patriots owner Bob Kraft and others to hire an independent executive search firm, an effort to avoid the kind of fractious infighting that went on for seven months in 1989 before Tagliabue was elected to succeed Pete Rozelle.

''We don't want to get ahead of ourselves and interview candidates before we define the position," said Houston Texans owner Bob McNair, an advocate of splitting the job into two positions.

Tagliabue said he expected the search firm to speak individually with each of the 32 owners, or their representatives, to establish the criteria for candidates. The firm is expected to bring forth names from within pro football and from the corporate world, to be reviewed by the league's search committee before any recommendations are made.

Although Tagliabue hopes to step down by the end of July, he made it clear yesterday that he does not intend to recommend anyone for the job.

''That's not my function," Tagliabue said.

One AFC owner agreed and added that a subtle handling of the process is Tagliabue's standard M.O.

''Paul knows the best thing is to not tell the 32 guys in that room what to do," said the owner. ''He's more subtle than that, but his feelings will be made known."

Meanwhile, at these league meetings, Tagliabue said there would be a presentation on stadium efforts in Anaheim and the latest remodeling plan of the Los Angeles Coliseum but no determination of which plan the league might pursue is expected until a later league meeting in Denver. One of the plans likely will be selected as the process begins anew to return pro football to Los Angeles, which has been without it for a decade. Such a move comes at a time of declining attendance in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Diego, a problem Tagliabue said was more cyclical than ominous.

''Some of that has to do with winning," Tagliabue said. ''Attendance tends to be robust when you win and tends to flag when you lose. They also don't have some of the best stadiums in California."

There seems to be little appetite among California taxpayers to foot the bill for new stadiums. Tagliabue acknowledged that, pointing out that the league's G-3 funds have been used to help other teams cover some of the capital expenses of building new stadiums, and would have to be used again, perhaps more creatively, to assist both the present California teams and the effort to build a stadium in Los Angeles.

According to a Patriots spokesman, the team never made any effort to sign wide receiver Joe Jurevicius. There were no calls to Jurevicius or his agent, nor any written correspondence, according to the Patriots. The former Seahawk signed with Cleveland as a free agent . . . Yesterday the Patriots announced the re-signing of free agent fullback Heath Evans. Evans, 27, who signed with New England last Nov. 1 after six games with the Dolphins, played in six games for the Patriots. He had a career-high 84 yards on 17 carries in a 23-16 victory in Miami Nov. 13, although in more of a tailback role. His totals of 51 carries for 192 yards were career bests, and he also caught 10 passes for 88 yards . . . The NFL awarded the Patriots two sixth-round compensatory picks in this season's draft (for losing Joe Andruzzi, Adrian Klemm, and David Patten and signing Monty Beisel) . . . Tagliabue said the minimum cap expenditure per team has not yet been established but will be higher than the 84 percent of the $85.5 million cap that was in effect last season. ''The last I saw, the minimum would increase to 90 percent of the cap over the life of the deal," Tagliabue said.