With indictments for alleged gambling fraud looming, DeBartolo resigned Tuesday as head of Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. and its subsidiaries, one of which is the San Francisco 49ers football team he has stewarded to five Super Bowl titles. At issue is DeBartolo's role in the financing of a Louisiana casino with former governor Edwin Edwards, who has received word of his own indictments, though the colorful politician says: "I still don't know what for."
Carmen Policy will continue to run the team's day-to-day operations and will become a minority partner in order to replace DeBartolo as the team's representative to the NFL for league business.
Elsewhere on the NFL docket:
Soon-to-be-fired Dallas Cowboy Barry Switzer pleaded guilty Tuesday to a misdemeanor gun charge following his arrest last summer carrying a loaded pistol in his luggage at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. He was fined $3,500. And the Miami Dolphins have offered a contract to troubled and I mean troubled running back Lawrence Phillips. "There is a large upside," coach Jimmy Johnson said before meeting with Phillips Tuesday, mentioning the legally challenged Phillips will be entering a "highly disciplined program" with the Dolphins. It may have to involve manacles.