Overtime, playoff expansion on agenda

PHOENIX, March 23 (UPI) -- Altering the overtime rules and expanding the playoffs will be the hot topics for discussion and possible vote at the NFL owners meetings, which officially get underway Monday.

The eight-member NFL Competition Committee, which concluded eight days of meetings last Wednesday in Naples, Fla., is split on changes to the overtime format and not in favor of adding two playoff teams.

Last year, the NFL had a record 25 overtime games. Ten of those were decided on the first possession and 15 were won by the team that won the coin toss.

"There is a concern that the first possession is becoming too much of an advantage," said Tampa Bay Buccaneers General Manager and Competition Committee co-chairman Rich McKay. "I'm sure it will be debated, and we'll have a vote on it."

Since overtime was instituted in 1974, a coin toss determines which team gets the ball and the club that scores first wins. Under the new proposal, a two-possession system would give both teams a chance to score, with the game reverting to sudden death thereafter.

The New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs are responsible for submitting a proposal to add a wild-card playoff team in each conference, expanding the postseason to 14 teams. But that may not even get voted upon by the owners before the meetings conclude on Wednesday.

The NFL realigned to eight four-team divisions last season with the division winners and two wild cards in each conference advancing to the playoffs.

"I think the committee wants to give it (realignment) two years before we decide whether it's appropriate to expand the playoffs," McKay said.

The NFL has expanded from 28 teams in 1994 to 32 with last year's addition of the Houston Texans, but a 12-team playoff field has been in effect since 1990. The new proposed format would have an odd seven playoff teams in each conference, giving a bye to only the team with the best record. The division winner with the second-best record would play the third wild card team instead of receiving a bye.

The Cleveland Browns submitted a proposal in which coaches would not lose an instant replay challenge if they win the challenge. Under the rules, teams get to use just two coaching challenges per game. But that proposal appears to be a year away from getting voted on.

"This is the final year of replay, and we aren't comfortable in tinkering with the rules," McKay said. "Any modification should be done next year."

The status of NFL Europe will be discussed with the United States at war in Iraq. The league's six teams have been training in Florida for the past three weeks and are scheduled to go overseas on Tuesday and Wednesday. The season begins on April 5.

Discussions will continue on efforts to improve diversity hiring for coaches and front office executives. The NFL wants to create programs that promote qualified minority candidates.

There are only three black head coaches in the NFL - Herman Edwards of the New York Jets, Tony Dungy of Indianapolis and Marvin Lewis of Cincinnati - and two black general managers -Ozzie Newsome of Baltimore and James Harris ofJacksonville.

Future Super Bowl sites will not be determined until later in the year, but there will be presentations by two Los Angeles stadiums, one involving improvements to the Rose Bowl and the other for a new stadium in Carson City.