Lofty Goals Call For Change
Former Executive Optimistic But Says League Has ‘Blundered’
Michael Huyghue grew up in Windsor with high aspirations. A three-sport athlete, he didn’t want to be a quarterback, or outfielder, or a coach. He had higher aspirations. No, for him there was only one job.
“This book is a little bit about my search and quest to become commissioner of the NFL,” Huyghue said, “which was a goal I had back in Connecticut as an 8-year-old.”
Huyghue’s book, “Behind The Line Of Scrimmage: Inside The Front Office Of The NFL,” released by Little, Brown in late August, details his experiences as one of the first black and one of the youngest executives to rise in pro football. Huyghue has served as a successful GM, has held several key posts in the NFL management council, has been a high-powered player agent,
“Athletics was always a linchpin for me in bridging gaps.”
Windsor’s Michael Huyghue
and was commissioner of the United Football League.
“I don't think it was an attainable goal, given the circumstances of what the NFL was going to do,” Huyghue told The Courant from his home in Florida this week, “but I think I got as far to the cusp of that as you can get. I was among the final cuts when Roger [Goodell] got the job and [former commissioner Paul] Tagliabue bringing me in was a chance to be in the queue. I was as high in the system as you can be, it just wasn't meant to be. I'm not saying I was the perfect candidate, but I saw enough of it up close to know I could be satisfied with where I ended up.”
Huyghue, 56, is ready to reflect, and at a time when the NFL is under fire from the White House, and many other quarters, with race issues often at the core of the conversation. He sees mistakes and hypocrisy in the way the national anthem controversy, the danger of concussions and player-management relations have been handled by the league, though he remains optimistic about the NFL's health and future.
“It's been blundered to start with,” Huyghue said, “I think [management] has to help change the narrative to say, ‘We support the national anthem,' and maybe allow for a protest time collectively, just like they were doing before, with whoever wants to be involved. Maybe not during the national anthem, but recognizing that protest because it isn't really the anthem that bothers people. They don't want to see players protesting. They think players are making too much money. I think a lot of people don't really believe the issue in the black community is as it is. They don't believe the whole basis of what they are protesting to begin with.”
Regarding Colin Kaepernick, who has been out of the league for nearly two years:
“It isn't a skill issue at all,” Huyghue said. “[Signing him] wouldn't be a distraction to the players. There is a potential there would be disruption in the community, but, again, I think the ownership group would have a way to do that. You know, teams have brought in wife beaters, spousal abusers — we've brought some pretty shady characters into the NFL and found ways to survive. But to say this guy isn't good enough? You tell me how many guys have played in the Super Bowl as a quarterback that we wouldn't give another chance when we're still chasing Johnny Football [Manziel], who can't play in the CFL. So clearly it's not a skill issue.
“We ask players to be role models, we ask them to stand up in society and then when they bring attention to issues that are important, we want to chill that speech. I don't think you can have that double standard.”
As for President Trump's relentless attacks on the NFL: “I think the president has been attacked in many different ways,” Huyghue said, “and he is looking very much for areas where he can rally his base and keep himself in office — patriotism and the narrative that he has put on the players issue has been one that he has been able to gain support from. I think it is strictly a politically based argument, you might even argue that he has an ax to grind with the NFL since his USFL days when he sued the league. So when you look at politics and the basis for it, you can't be naïve enough to think that it's strictly on the issue. There are other related benefits he is getting from this argument so it's very difficult to treat what he is saying on a genuine basis.”
The league erred in trying to sweep the concussion concerns “under the rug,” he said.
“They're not in the business of promoting their dirty laundry. When you get in the business of not wanting to know information, it ends up blowing up on you and it's another one that they should have gotten in front of. … They have to do a better job of informing people, making the infor- mation available so when people are going to make those choices they really do understand the consequences.”
Huyghue and his family moved from Hartford to Windsor when he was very young, and it proved to be the place where he would learn to navigate what his career would eventually throw his way.
“It was the perfect proving ground for me,” he said. “I came from Hartford and I moved into Windsor and it was a predominantly white town, and initially I felt ostracized, like I didn't fit in. I started playing sports and found a level playing field and people accepted me. So athletics was always a linchpin for me in bridging gaps. I was able to develop very strong relationships with people. My mentors were these sports coaches. It put me in a perfect vehicle. While sports gave me a competitive balance to find fairness and friendship and fitting in, but I was still able to be my own person.”
He went on to play football at Cornell, where he earned a degree in communications. He graduated from law school at Michigan and passed the bar in several states. He became a GM at Birmingham in the World League while still in his 20s, and then as a young NFL executive, he helped the Lions (1991) win their last division title and the Jaguars compile the best record of any expansion team in its first five seasons, beginning in 1994.
“Having a black GM that players can relate to,” Huyghue said, “and have a belief that there is support for them, it worked for me and translated to success. Not just that I climbed the ladder, but in those roles success was achieved and that should be a blueprint for owners and presidents and GMs to follow in terms of hiring others.”
In his NFL leadership positions, Huyghue pushed to improve the record in hiring minority candidates. With various programs, such as the “Rooney Rule,” which required teams to consider at least one minority candidate, the NFL had the right intentions, but was not always effective, Huyghue said.
“Outside groups would look at numbers and not impact,” he said, “so it was a program that had an ability to raise numbers. But it didn't put minority candidates in positions that could have affected the change on a larger scale.”
As commissioner of the United Football League in 2009, Huyghue made certain Hartford got a team, the Colonials, one of his proudest moments. “It felt like a great payback to a place that had given me such a great chance,” he said.
His book will provide what he called “a-ha moments” for women and minorities who have tried to break into any industry and felt blocked. Foremost among his hopes for readers' takeaways is the importance of standing for one's beliefs.
“In many ways it was therapeutic,” he said, “writing it myself and bringing closure to my career, but I saw it as a tool for others. You have to find your moral compass. You have to sort of decide what you're going to stand for in the process of this quest, whatever you're going for. Oftentimes there is a mistaken belief that because you have a degree and because you've gone to good schools, that sort of triumphs or usurps any issues that may come through bias or politics or race, gender discrimination, and it's just simple fallacy. You will always face those challenges in your career. … And at times you have to decide you're just going to have to walk, when you feel compromised by your integrity in a situation. You can't be afraid or intimidated concerned that you're giving up a good position.”
He is teaching law at Cornell, back with his agency and marketing company, Michael Huyghue and Associates in Jacksonville, and doing some consulting work. Would he return to the NFL?
“If I could have a significant impact on issues that are important to me, like race or opportunity, I would,” Huyghue said. “I wouldn't get in for myself to climb the ladder for my own regard. I hope this dialogue would lead to those kinds of changes.”